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THE
Endemial Colic of Devon^
NOT CAUSED
By a Solution of LEAD
IN THE
CYDER.
A Particular Reply is here given to
Dr. SAUNDERS\ Arjfwerj
To CURSORY REMARKS;
With fome farther Remarks
O N
Dr. BAKER’S ESSAY
On that SUBJECT.
By THOMAS ALCOCK AM,
Veritatem, non lamam, Sequor.
^ - - - - - - -- — _ . _ - • T- .
Plymouth: Printed by R. Weatherley, for
the Author; and Sold by R. Baldwin, in
Pater-Nofter-Row, London; R. Goadby, iii
Sherborne; E. Score, in Exeter; and
J. Wallis, in Plymouth,
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( 3 )
Wor the hiformation of fome Readers if
may he neceffary to premije the fol¬
lowing State of the Controverfy.
Some Time about the middle of the
Year 1767, Do(5lor Baker, an eminent Phy»
fician of London, printed an EJjay concerning
the Caufe of the Endemial Colic of Devonfoire^
and fent down Copies to feveral Gentle¬
men in the Weft.
In this Eflay the Learned Author main^
tains that there is a Portion of Lead in the
Devonian Inftruments of Pounding, but
none in thofe of Hereford, Worcefter,
that fome of this Lead is diflblved by the
Juice of the Apples, and muf in the Time
of Pounding and Preffing, and that this
Solution of Lead in the Cyder is the Caufe
of the Endemial Colic,
Mr. Francis Geach, an ingenious Sur¬
geon of Plymouth-Dock, and F. R. S. in
the Autumn of the fame Year Pnbliflied
fome Obfervations in Oppolition to this Hy-*
pothefis of Doctor Baker.
Az
About
( ■ 4 )
About the fame Time I had alfo drawii
up a few Curfory Remarks on the RJJay.
Thefe by Mr. Geach’s Defire, were printed
with his Obfervations.
♦
Dr. Saunders then ftepped forth, and
took up the Controverfy, and Publlfhed his
Anjwer to our Pamphlet towards the clofe
of the Year.
The following Spring I drew up the
principal Part of this Reply. The Finifliing
and Publication however were deferred to
Autumn, partly on Account of fome necefi
fary Avocations ; and partly, that I might
have an Opportunity of making fome Ex¬
periments on the frefh Muft at the ap¬
proaching Pounding Seafon.
In the mean Time the College of Phy-
ficians Publifhed Vol. i. of Medical Tranf-
aSlions^ and therein the above RJjdy of Doc¬
tor Baker,
The College declare, after the Manner
of the Roy al^ Society, that they do not, as a
Body^ mean to Vouch for the Tiruth of 'any Re¬
lation
( 5 )
latipn, or to give Authority to any Opinion, con¬
tained in the Papers here PubJijhed.
In the as now republifhed, the Au¬
thor has fuppreffed feveral Things, which
appeared in the former Work; and has al¬
tered, tranfpofed, and added other Things;
and fuper-added a Fojicript and Appendix.
Mr. Geach has lately Publifhed his Re¬
ply to Dodlor Saunders,
And I hope this Reply of mine will put
an End to this Leaden Controverfy.
A captious Difputant, like an obftinate
Litigant, may always find fomething in the
Proceedings to take hold of, in order to
renew the Suit, But Do6lor Baker is of
too liberal a Turn, to continue a Contro-
yerfy, if it fhould appear, that the main
of the Caufe is eftablifhed againft Him.
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Redeunt Saturnia Regna.
)T Saturnia Regna the AyicienU meant the
happy Reign of Saturn, the Golden Age.
It is not my purpofe, hy prefixing this motto to
my Work, to Jignify, that I imagine^ thofe happy
Golden Days are now returned. And yet, if there
were any hopes of their returning, I fhould think,
zve might reafonahly expedi them under the aufpices
of our prefent moji Gracious Sovereign. But the
Reader will foon perceive, that at prefent I have
quite another meaning. "This fame Saturn, that
Reigned and lived fo delicioufiy, was rather a Suf¬
ferer by Deification, when he was Tranfiated, or
Convertedinto, the cold and leaden Planet, Saturn^
Phyjtcians and Chemijis have long charadlerhed the
feven Metals hy the [even Planets : Gold, the prin¬
cipal Metal hy the Sun, the principal Planet', Silver
hy the Moony Mercury, a Sort of Semi Silver, hy
the Planet of that name, near efi in Situation to the
Bun-, Gopper by Venus Ironhy Mars-, P'in hy Jove^,
and Lead by Saturn, the moJi dijiant, and coldeji
of all the Planets. Hence Saturnine and Leaden
is the fame Thmg,> As then Leaden Suhjedls have
of late been fo much in debate, it is the Reign of
Saturn only in his Leaden Capaciiy, that I am afraid
the Public will fuppofe to be now Returned.
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THE
{
Endemial Colic of Devon^
NOTCAUSED
By a Solution of LEAD
I N T H E
C Y D E R.
OCTOR Saunders begins
his Anfwer, by telling his Pa-
D tron, Doftor Baker ^ a great
^ ^ Piece of News, that his Opi^
nion had been attacked by a Cm--
federacy oj Authors^ Mejfrs, Geach and Alcock.
Mr. Geach had draw^n up his Remarks
on the EJfay before I faw them, and was no
wife concerned in drawing up mine. Con-
fequehtly there was no Confederacy; This
implying an Union of Strength and Counr-
fel. But there are evident Marks of a Con¬
federacy, or coml:!lne4 Authorftiip in the
Piece before us: And this Anfwerer iffues
forth, as a mighty Second^ ferro diverberanSy
brandifhing his pointed (^ill, flafhing and
cutting down all before him ; and like a true
l^^rcenary in War, committing Outrages
on
( lo )
on Chara6lers which the Principal himfelt
would have treated with more lenity.
He then communicates to Dodlor Baker
fome Ihort Memoirs of my Life and Wri¬
tings; which the Do6lor very probably had
juft before communicated to him; it being
pretty likely that a Native of Devonjloire
fhould know fomewhat more of me^ than
this Anfwerer can be fuppofed to do, who,
as I am informed, had his medical Educa¬
tion, if not his Birth, in North-Britain, A
deal of this fulfom childifh Stuff, of tel¬
ling the Dodlor, what the Doftor with
more Propriety could have told him, ap¬
pears in the Courfe of the Work^
P. i. T^he Latter a Reverend Ecclejia/lic.
Note, the Englijh Word, Reverend^ when
ufed by a Polemic Writer, as a Title of ad-
drefs to his Antagonift, alv/ays means irre-
verend, contemptible; juft as the Latin Sacer
Holy, on fome Occafions lignifies unholy^
eurjed, damned,
P. i. Whofe Studies, it may be pre fumed,
have had but a fmall ConneSlion with Medical
SubjeSls,
This Refpondent feems to make hiinfelf
fure of hisCaufe from the fuppofed Weak-
nefs of his Opponent ; Prefuming, that no¬
thing
( II )
diing of importance on the prefent Subjeft
can be expefted from a Perfon, that is not
One of the Faculty, But the Queftion is,
non a Quo, fed quid? Not, by whom, but
what is the matter advanced I A Determi¬
nation on the prefent Point does not alto¬
gether depend upon medical Knowledge.
There are fome Fafts and Reafonings, that
lie open to every ftudious Enquirer. The
Gentleman needs not blame me, as an Ec-
cleliaftick, for going a little out of my Walk
to touch on medical Subjefts. Do not fome
of his Fraternity fometimes meddle with
Divinity Topics? But whatever he may
conclude from the Meannefs of my Perfor¬
mance, I muft confefs, that my Studies have
had fome fmall Connexion with medical
Subjects, — that my Name was entered on
the Phyfical Line in Oxford^ and that I had
Opportunities, if I had but made the pro¬
per ufe of them, of learning fomething
both of Phyfic and Chemiftry from a Pro-
feflbr ^ in thofc Sciences, perhaps not in¬
ferior to this great Doftor Saunders. The
Clergy or Priefthood, it is well known,
have in all Ages and Countries poffeffed a
confiderable lhare of the Learning of the
Times, in which they lived, in confequence
of
Nathan Alcock, M. D. Fellow of the College of
Phyficians, and of the Royal Society, and late Pre-
ledor in Anatorny and Chemiftry in the Univerfity
of Oxford,
( 12 )
of their Education, Leifure, and Seclufio^
from worldly Employments; And have de-
ferved well of the Common wealth of Let-
fers, as being great Promoters of Arts and
Sciences. And therefore to cenfure them
for meddling with other Subjedls, and con¬
fine them merely to Theology, would be
Stopping up fome of |he principal Sources
of Literature, and doing a great injury to
the Public.
P. h Who has the merit of having been one
of the Ttrjl Champions ^ who lately appeared
againji the Supreme Authority in the caufe of
Devonftilre Cyder.
What this Anfwerer here throws out
againft me, as a Reproach, fome Perfons
very probably may look upon as an Honour.
The County of Devon at one of their pub-
lick Meetings at Exeter , ordered their
Thanks to be given to me, and Printed for
my Obfervations on the Cyder ASl. Perhaps
that Pamphlet might lay open fome of the
ill Confequences of the A61, and thereby
be fomewhat, although in a fmall degree,
inftrumental in procuring an Amendment^
and afterwards a Repeal of the Additional
Tax on Cyder. But was this appearing a-
galnft the Supreme Authority? Have not
Subje6ls a conftitutional Right to lay open
their Grievances in an humble and refpedt-
ful
I
✓
ful Manner, and in fuch a Manner I ex-^
preffed myfelf, and to Petition the King,
or either Houfe of Parliament for Redrefs?
Is examining the Contents of an Adi of Par-
liament, and, with all due Regard to the
Legihature, pointing out fome Hardfhip or
Impropriety; Is this appearing againji the
fuprerne Authority? Are our Laws like thofe
of the Medes and Perjians^ never to be al¬
tered? Are not many Adis of Parliament
pafled, and, upon controverted and untried
Subjedls, pafled only as Eflays, or Sketches,
rather than complete Drawings; And af¬
ter having been canvafled by the Public,
and fhewn to be wrong, opprellive, un¬
equal, or inadequate to the End, either
judicioufly Amended, or gracioufly Repeal¬
ed ? And was not this the ' laudable Con-
dudl of the Legiflature with refpedl to the
Adi in Queftion? But why does this Writer
ftart up a dormant Subject, which, now the
Evil complained of, is removed, ought to
be buried in Oblivion, and all Animolities,
whether public or private, be buried with
it? Does he want ftill to profcribe our Cy- '
der, and not only charge it with Lead, but
Tax it again with Silver?
For my own Part, I lhall take this Op-
porCunity of congratulating with all the Cy¬
der Counties on a Refolution of the Houfe
of Commons of the 8thr of February 1768 ;
( 14 )
In confequenre of which all the remainder
of 355005000/. borrowed iii George in on
the Additional Duty on Wine, Cyder and
Perry, was paid off the 5th. oi'Januar^ 1769.
P. ii. Whether the Latter has taken up his
Pen on a Patriotic ^ or Selfjh Principle^ it can-
ngt eajily be determined
But it may eafily be determined, on
what Principle this jlnfwerer took up his
Pen. It was partly out of Refentment for
the Publication of Mr. Morel's Letters; which
expofe a Blunder in the two Affays, as will
be feen by and by, and fhew they were
made from incompetent Matter, that is frorn
bottled Cyder impregnated with Leaden
Shot : And partly, as was hinted before,
to ferve as a literary Mercenary, and take
off the Drudgery of an Anfwer from his
Principal.
P. ii. For although he appears to he a Cy¬
der-Maker , and moji probably is a Dealer in
that Commodity^ he mujl be allowed to have
fome Jhare of public Spirit^ who feems to be as
zealous to get your Dodlrine refuted^ as he late¬
ly was to get the Cyder A5l repealed.
I do really nowand then fell a Hogfhead
or two of Cyder, when we happen to make
more than is needful for the Confumption
of
( 15 )
of the Family, But I never Sold any as a
Dealer^ as one, that buys, to Sell again*
When I do, I purpofe to fend it to the
London Market, and confign it to Dodlor
Saunders for his Certificate,
fpecifying the Purity of the Liquor, or if
not pure, what Degree of Saturnine Im¬
pregnation it may have received, and how
many Scruples of Danger may be appre¬
hended from it to the Confumer. With¬
out fuch an Aflay and Certificate, it will
be very difficult now to difpofe of any
Devon/hire Cyder at the London Markets,
And I fubmit it to the County, whether it
would not be right to appoint Doftor
Saunders Aflay-Mafter of our Cyder, with
an Allowance of ail the Lead he can pick
out of it for his Salary ; much in the Man¬
ner, as the Aflay-Mafter of Plate takes as
a Reward for his Trouble the feveral Bits
of Silver, on which he makes Aflay.
I had obferved. Remark vii. ^ that great
® Numbers every year drink immoderately
of Cyder without perceiving any Symp-
* toms of the Diftemper, while many La-
‘ dies. Children and Valetudinarians, who
^ drink little or no Cyder at all, are fre-
‘ quently attacked with it. Mr. Geach af-
‘ firms too, P. iii. that Ladies who drink but
^ little Cyder, and Children who drink
® none at all, are often troubled with Colics,
T^his
1
♦
( i6 j
I
Th*s Ohfervation^ fays Dodlor Saunders^
P. viii. hold^ good all the World over^ But -
proves nothing in the prefent Cafe^
By Dijlemper or Colic is plainly meant
here the Devonfhire Endemial Colic ^ attend-
V ed with its ufual diftinguifhing Symptoms*
This is the only Colic we here refer to^
The Courfe of the Argument neceflarily
leads to this ; and it is idle and captious to
wreft it to any other. Therefore this Ob--
fervation doth not hold good all the World over.
It may hold good all the World over, that
Ladies and Valetudinarians, who drink little
or no Cyder, may have the Colic. But
then they have not the Colic of Devon. If
they have the Colic of Devon, and yet ne¬
ver drank any Cyder, it moll certainly foi-
- lows, that Cyder, and confequently that
Lead in the Cyder, cannot be the only
caufeof the Devon/hire Colic. The Obferva-
tion therefore proves ,fome thing — it proves
a great deal in the prefent Cafe, and carries
a Force wnth it fufficient to fhake, if not
to overthrow, the Leaden Syjiem.
P. X. This Anfwerer quotes me for fay^
ing, ‘ The Diftemper rages moll in great
‘ Bearings and cold moill Seafons.’ Mr,
Geach had made nearly the fame Obferva-
tion. Fro7n the Teflimony of both, fays he to
Dodlor Baker, may we not conclude in favour
of your Opinion. And
( I? )
And may vve not as well conclude front
hence in Favour of other Opinions? May we
not as well conclude from hence, that the
Moiftnels and Coldnefs, or other ill Qua¬
lity of the Atmofphere, the Dampnefs of
the Seafbn, obftrudted Perfpiratiori,~tl]e
greater Degree of Acidity in the Liquor,
the Fruit in fuch a Seafon not being duly
matured,- — -the immoderate ufe of Fruit,
and more efpecially the great Quantity of
Cyder that is drank in a plentiful Year, ‘f and
often drank too in a State, when the Liquor
B is
^ Dr. William Muigrave in his DliTertation de
thritide Symptomatica, publifhed in the Year, 1703,
in the 10th. Chapter de Arthritide Colica^ has the fol¬
lowing Paffage as rendered in Engliili. ^ In Devon-
fliire there is another Sort ot Colic arifing from the
rough and acid Cyder, drank there in too great a
Quantity.That the Cyder is the Caufe, k iianifeft fiom
hence, that this Colic infefts only thole who uie them-
felves to that Liquor, and that lei's, or more, in Pro¬
portion as they make Ufe of it. So that in thofe Sea-
Ibns, which abound with Cyder, the Diieale prevails
moil, and grows Epidemic. On the contrary, v/hen
Pomona vhthholds a Plenty, it more rarely makes its
Appearance.’
t The Reader is not to conclude, that I imagine,
the fame Conftitution of the Air or Seafon, wdrich is
friendly to the Produdtion of Cyder, to be produfti ve
alfo of the Colic. A plentiful Year, merely as fuch,
has very likely no Effedf. It is rather to the Quality
or great Quantity confumed, than to the Abundance
of the Crop, that we are to afcribe the Diieafe ; A
plentiful Year no otherwife contributing to it, than
as more Fruit and Cyder are made Ufe of in fuch a
Seafon,
( i8 )
♦
is nothalf fermented, and abounds with what
Doftor Boerhaave calls, wild Gas, ^ an ex-*
paniive and explofive acid Spirit, fo vio»
lent fometimes in its Operatign, as to pro¬
duce, by being received only into the No-
ftrifs, inftant Death, or at leaft occafion
Apoplexy, Palfy, Stupor, Vertigos, ‘f* From
whence, he faith, we may have a Notion
of the more immediate Caufe of Drunken-
nefs, and Difordersof the Nerves ; may we
not conclude, that fome, or all of thefe
Caufes, or other Caufes in Concurrence, par¬
ticularly an irregular Gout, may rather pro¬
duce, or contribute to produce, and increafe
this Diftemper in fuch Seafons, than this
fuppofed folution of Lead ; which in the
Generality of Pounds, and confequently in
the Generality of Cyder, as it comes down
from the Prefs, does not appear to have
any Exiftence ? It is allowed, that in cold
moift Seafons, the Fruit and Liquor are
more acid; And that the more acid the
Liquor, the more it is a Dilfblvent of Lead,
But how flowly does Vinegar itfelf difTolve
crude Lead? The Metal muft be formed
into very thin Plates, and ,expofed to the
warm circulating Vapour of this ftrong ve¬
getable
* Boerhaave’s Chem. by Shaw, Vol. i. P. 547.
t My Servants in racking of Cyder, frequently
complain of Giddinefs, Head Ach, and fbme De¬
gree of Inebriation, although they have drank none
of the Liquor during the Time.
( 19 )
getable Acid for a Fortnight or three Weeks
together, before it will be conliderably
corroded. It may be obferved too, that
Lead diffolves but in a very fmail Quantity
in Proportion to the Menftruum, in Vege¬
table Acids. One Quart of Vinegar, which
is a much more powerful Solvent, than
Muft, or Cyder, will fcarcely difiblve a
Scruple out of a Dram of Lead. The Gen¬
tleman has not yet proved even in Pounds,
where fome Lead is run into the cramp
Holes, and the Prefs covered with fheet
Lead, that the Muft diffolves any Portion,
that can poffibly affedi fuch a Quantity of
Liquor in fo Ihort a Time, as it flows in a
few Hours immediately from the Prefs.
Or if He Ihould fay. He can difcover fom^
faturnine Solution in the Muft: of twenty or
thirty Pounds, where the Preffes are plated
with Lead; we can prove there is none in
B 2 Flundreds
* I put a fmall Piece of Lead into a Glafs of Muft,
taken immediately from the Pound. And notwith-
Handing the Lead here was fb conftderably more in
Proportion to the Liquor^ than it ever is in any of
our Troughs or Preftes, yet on the Application of th^
ufual Tefts, not the leaft impregnation of Lead could
be difcovered in the Space of three Days: A Space of
Time much longer than the Muft continues either in
the Trough, or on the Prefs. By the by, I muft ob-
ferve that the pounded Apples at Ibme of the leadeii
Preftes are laid upon Boards, and do not come imme¬
diately in contaA with the leaden Plate. This Con¬
trivance is to prevent the paring Knife from cutting
into the Lead,
I
( 20 )
Hundreds, I might fay, feme Thoufands of
Pounds, that have no fuch Preffes or leaden
Receivers. And how then can luch a par¬
tial and local Canfe produce a provincial, or
general EffecSt? It is moft certain the En-
demiai Colic appears in many Parts of the
County, where no Lead is to be found in
any of the Utenliis of Cyder making; ^
And doth not apjrear in other Parts, where
fome Lead may be found. Philip Cockey.
of Totnefs, Efq; writes, ^ that a Gentleman
of Cockington, in that Neighbourhood,
^ had an engine Pound, which fince the
prefent Difpute arofe, he had ordered to
^ be taken abroad, and that there was no
^ Lead in any Part of the Conftruftion, and
^ yet that the Inhabitants of the Village, who
Pound
* This is the Cafe in the Province of Normandy,
The Domeflicks, and Lower Sort of People there,
whofe common Drink is Cidre CoupL ^ kind of
fweet four, pricked Cyder, a mixture of new and old,
are generally every Year more or lefs affiidfed about
the Autumnal Seaion with an Epidemic Colic ; not-
withflanding alrnod all their Utenliis of Cyder-ma¬
king are compoled of Wood, and on the nicell Ana-
lylis of the Cyder, and Application of the ufual che¬
mical Teds, not the lead Atom of Lead could be
difeovered. See Dodior Baker s Appendix, Medical
ViranfadUcns. P. 46 1 . A Book, that did not come to
my Hands, dill long after I had drawn up the princi¬
pal Part of this Reply.
Air. Lechandelier, an eminent Chemid of the A-
cademy of Rouen, in a Letter I have from him, con-
drms the above Account.
( 21 )
^ Pound their Fruit there, and the Gentle-
man’s own Family in particular, have
almcft every Year been more or iefs at-
tacked with the Devonfhire Colic. —That
Mr. Kitfon, of Shiphay has alfo a Pound,
^ in which there is no Lead, and yet the
^ Drinkers of the Cyder made at that Pound
^ are much affiidied with the Colic.’ And
many other like Inftances might be produ»
ced. The fame Gentleman writes, that
‘ He had a Prefs at Sharpham covered with
Lead ; that Mr. Pearfe near Kinglbridge,
^ and Mr. Rennel of Newton-Euiliei, had
^ like wife fuch a Prefs, that great quantities
^ of Cyder were yearly made at thefe Pounds
but that on the ftridfeft enquiry, no Colics
^ or bad effects had ever happened to the
^ Drinkers of the Cyder made there.’ Mr.
Searl of the famous Pound at Alphington,
affured me, he never heard or found that
the Cyder made at that Pound ever gave
the Colic, more than any other Pound, that
had no leaden Plate over the Prefs, tho’
I think, he faid, he fomedmes Pounds there
inaSeafon, five hundred Hogfheads; He
^ never kne w any to fiiffer, but for the want
^ of it ; that if the Learned Dodfor lived in
that Parifh, he would find it a difficult
^ Matter to make his People believe it to be
^ unhealthy.’ Mr. Cockey very juftly adds:
^ I do n’t know what further Proofs are ne-
* ceffary to convince the World that Doftor
R 3 ^ Bake"
( 22 )
^ Baker Is miftaken, than that the Drinkers
of Cyder made at Pounds, where no Lead
‘ is in the Conftruftion, are remarkably
« afflidled with the Colic: And on the
‘ contrary 5 the Perfons who conftantly drink
‘ the Cyder made at Pounds, whole PrelTes
are covered with Lead, are not afflifted."
^ The Rev. Mr, Francis Luce, Vicar of
^ Broadhembury, acquaints me by Letter,
^ that the Family and People, who drank
the Cyder made at Grange in that Parifh,
^ were fometime heretofore troubled with
® the Colic, more than others of thofe PartS|,
^ which was attributed to a harfh Kind of
^ Fruit, v^ith which the Orchards then a-
bounded.— That there was at that Time
^ no Leaden Prefs, nor any Lead in the
^ Pounding Utenlils, that could occafion
^ the Diforder : But that fince the Orchards
^ have been Planted with other, and milder
Fruit, the Drinkers of the Cyder there
^ have been as free from the Colic, as any
of their Neighbours, notwithftandingthe
^ Prefs of late Years has been covered with
^ Lead.
I likewife know for certain, that the Do-
mefticks of a near Neighbour of mine are
remarkably troubled wath the Colic, feve-
lal of w’hom I have Vifited in that Diforder,
and yet there is no Lead in any of the Cyder
Iinplements, that can poflibly Occafion it
the re ^
/
( 23 )
there, more than elfewhere; nay, there Is
lefs Lead; for the Apples are groimd in a
Mill, and the Prefs is entirely of Wood,
But to proceed with our Subjedl; If the
more Acid the Cyder, the more it be a Sol¬
vent of Lead ; then the fweeter the Cy¬
der, the lefs it is a Solvent. Dodlor Saun¬
ders feems not to know, or doth not con-
fider, how little is the AcidofMuft, or new
Cyder, as it runs down from the Prefs; the
Time, when according to thefe Gentlemen
it muft be fuppofed to corrode the Lead.
I
The Adiift of Fruit, rightly mellowed for
Cyder, is foft, mucilaginous, fweet as Ho-
ney, and affords to the Tafte little fen-
fation of Acid. Dr. Boerhaave has faid :
The frejh exprejjed Juice of ripe RhenifJj
Grapes has a very fweet Tajle^ but when per-
fedll^ fermented, and fuff'ered to reft in the
Cafk, it tafies gratefidly tart and pungent.
Other Wines not perfectly fermented, but flop--
ped before the Operation is fully ended, remains
fweet, but then eafily jail back into a new Fer¬
mentation^ and when this isfniftoed, turn four.
The chemical Mafter I am contending with
' could teach us from Newmann -f* or Boer¬
haave, * that Tartar is generated, or pro¬
duced by Fermentation. Why could he
B 4 ' no;
t Pag. iv.
^ Chemifty by Shaw, Vol. ii, Pag. 115,
r-v' ’
( 24 )
not have told us from the fame AuthorS;,
particularly from the laft, that an jidd is al¬
ways combined with the "Tartar^ and that Fer-
7nentation feems to difclofe, or increaje the Acid^
latent in Vegetables ; and that altbovgh fweet
ripe V get able "Juices feera to contain little^ or
no Acid ^ for example^ the Juice of ripe Grapes
( nipe Apples) &c. yet after the'^ are properly
fermentef an Acid is direSik extricated from
themf Sweet ripe Vegetable Juices then
feem to contain little or no Acid. The Acid
like the Salt or Tartar cnmbined with it, is
difclofedy or generated by Fermentation.
Accordingly we find by Experience, that
the brifker and longer the Cyder ferments,
the rougher and iharper it becomes. And
to flop too long a Fermentation, which frets
and hurts the Liquor, it is cuftomary with
many Farmers to Rack off the Cyder into a
frefli Cafic, and y^um or fumigate it with a
Match of Brimftone : Which deftroying
the Elafticity of the Air, prevents a re-fer-
mentation. Since then the native Acid in
the Miift of mellow Fruit appears to be fo
little, and latent, fo inveloped and fheathed
in the oleaginous faccharine Juices, as
not at all to affe6l the Tafte ; little can be
its difiblv ent Power of crude Lead, although
it fhould run over a Prefs lined with fheet
Lead, as that at Alphington ; which con¬
tains a hundred times more furface of Lead,
|:)]an any of our ordinary Pounds, tha| have
( 25 )
no more, than what is run into the cramp-
Holes. This is not mere Speculation ; but is
fufficiently confirmed by Fa6ls. Mr, Cockey
the Gentleman above-mentioned, w^ho has
very laudably interefted himfelf in this dif-
pute, fent me fome Cyder with a Certifi¬
cate, that it was made at the Pound at Sharp-
ham, where the Prefs is covered with fheet
Lead. Mr. Cook worthy an eminent Drug-
gift and Chemift of Plymouth, Mr. Geach
and Others, can teftify, that this Cyder on
Experiments, gave no Marks of a Satur¬
nine Impregnation. The fore-named Cler¬
gyman Mr. Luce, fent me down in a clean
w'ooden Cafk, fome frefh Muft, which he
faw immediately taken from the famous
llieet Lead Prefs at Aiphington. TheTeft
was applied both by Mr. Cookworthy and
myfelf; and no Signs of a faturnine Solution
appeared. I likewife made an Extracft of
fome of the fame Muft; but could not dif-
f
cover, by means of the black Flux, the leaft
Particle of Lead. I poured a few Drops of
the ufualTeft into a Glafsof the Aiphington
Muft, and into a Glafs of my own Muft,
and aifo into a Glafs of Muft, which I had
from a Tenant, taken from a Pound, that
had not any Lead in the Apparatus, the
Trough confifting only of one circular Moor
Stone, and we have many fuch Troughs in
the County ; They all gave nearly alike
|hc fame white Precipitate. If there was
any '
( 26 )
any Difference, the Precipitate of the laft
Muft, which was the nevveft and foulell:,
was the leafl: white. Tindlure, or He-
par Sulphur is, applied to very fweet Muft,
immediately as it comes front the Pound,
fcarce throws down any Precipitation,
whitifh Flakes feem fiifpended in the mid¬
dle of the Glafs. A Proof there is not then
Acid enough to uqite with the Alkali, to
make it quit its hold of the Sulphur. For
the fame reafon a fweet fulphureous Cyder
does not fo effedlually feperate, and per-
cipitate the Sulphur in the Deccdfion of Or-
piment-Lime “Water, as a rough acid Cy¬
der; its Affinity or Attra6lion with the
being weaker.
Before I quit this Point, I would beg
Drs. Baker and Saunders ferioufly to attend
to what is offered above, to prove, that
drinking immoderately of four Cyder, e-
ipecially in a State of Fermentation, or of
the Muft or Cyder un-ferm.ented, may be
one principal Caufe of the Devonflrire Co¬
lic, and to confider whether this in Con¬
junction with fome other Caufes already
enumerated, does not appear fufficient,
and promife faireft to account for the Na¬
ture and Effects of the Difeafe. Hence we
feCy fays the fore-cited Author, what an
incredible
^ Boerhaave Chemifry by Shaw, VoL i. P. 548.
/
( 2? )
incredible EffeB^ the Eermenting Acid may
have upon Animals^ both to their Relief and
Prejudice, And on this Account it feenis to be^
that the Cholora Morbus^ (which is frequently
the Confequence of Devonfhire Colic) is
often fo fuddenly fataf viz. cither from new '
Wine,, or Summer Fruity fermenting in the
Stomach,, and Intejlines^ and dij charging their
Gas in the nervous Coats of theje Parts ^fo as
to Qccajlon a terrible Spafm. To which Pur-
pofe he mentions the Cafe of a Man who
died of this Diftemper, from drinking too
' freely of bottled Cyder. And in Vol. ii^
P. 1 1 3 treating on the fame Subjedl, he
fays: Hence Phyficians flooidd confider what
EjfeB fuch Liquors may have in the Body,, as are
drank in a State of Fermentation^ or that SpL
fity which in the Summer Seafon is generated
in a hot Body by too free a Ufe of ripe Summer
Fruits y if prevented from efc aping by any Con->
vuljiony or ConfiriBion of the Stomach, Whence
thefe Fruits woidd acquire y and exercife a vio-^ ^
lent Elajlicityy and Acrimony in fo warm a
Place.
Dr. Huxham obferves in his treatife on
the Devonfhire Colic, P. 13, that there
was fuch an Abundance of Apples in the
^ Year 1724, that vaft Quantities of them
- were thrown to the Hogs : And that the
^ Swine “Hogs, as well as the Swine-Men,
fuffered from the gluttonous Abufe of the
Apples^
( 28 )
Apples ; and all of them wafted greatly in
their Flefh, and maiv^ died. This Facl^ the
Truth of which is not controverted by Dr,
Baker affords a very flrong analogical Ar¬
gument in Proof of what I advance, and
makes diredlly againft the leaden Hypo-
thefts ; as thefe Effefts are entirely produ-
duced by the crude Apples, without any
poflibility of a faturnine Taint. The Sto¬
mach and Bowels muft of courfe have been
firft and principally affedted with Colichy
Diforders.
The Author of the Eflay, P. 15. 16.
takes a good deal of Pains to fhew, and our
I Author P. 12, feconds him, that the im¬
moderate Ufe of iliarp acid Cyder cannot
produce the Devonfhire Colic ; Becauje
yields found to be harmlefsj and in many
Countries on many Occafions wholfome. The
dry Belly Ach in the Weft Indies is frequently
cured by Cream of Tartar, The Colic of Poi¬
tou is very little known in the Eafern Countries^
where the Turks drink every Day very large
quantities of an acid Sherbet,
He fays, PhyfcianSj who have rcfded fome
Time in the hotter Countries^ have tefiified^
that there are no better Remedies againf Spafms,
Dyfenteries^ and other endemial Difeafes in hot
Climates^ than the acid Vegetables, with which
Nature has. mof liberally fuppUed them.
Now
( 29 )
Now allowing all this to be true of Acids
in the warm Climates, it would be fallaci¬
ous Reafoning to infer, that fuch Acids are
equally ufeful and healthy in the colder
Climates. If Nature’s fpontaneous Produc¬
tion of the Orange, the Lemon, the Lime^
the Tamarind, and of many four cool¬
ing Plants; if Nature’s fpontaneous liberal
Produftion of thefe in the hot Countries,
plainly points out their Ufe to the Inhabi¬
tants, as no doubt it does; Nature’s not
producing them, fpontaneoufly in the colder
Regions is alfb a latent Proof, that Nature
did not intend them here. The Acid may
prevail, and abound too much in the hu¬
man Conftitution in cold Climates ; as the
alkaline or putrefcent State of the Juices is
apt to get the Afcendency in w^arm Cli¬
mates : And confequently the fame Quan¬
tity of Acid, that may be refrigerating and
falutary in one Country, may be noxious
and fatal in another.
After fome fhort Part of this Work was
Printed, a friend of mine, whofe abilities
on thefe Subjedts are unqueftionable, fent
me the following obfervations which greatly
confirms the Point I am here eftablilhing.
It is allowed on all Hands (vide Drs,
Hiixham, Hillary, Baker, Warren, &V.)
that the Colic of Poitou, or Dry Belly
Ach
( 3° )
Ach is an Endemial Diftemper in tfi©
Weft Indies, and by all except Dr. Bakeri
unanimoufly imputed to the exceftive Ufe
of very acid Punch. No Cyder is drank
in thofe Parts. Mr. Loyd a very fenfible
curious Man, who refided fome Time in
Oxford, and is now in great Practice at
Wrexham, was, during the laft War, in all
the W eft India Iflands, Englifh, French and
Spanifh, as a Navy Surgeon, and made ma¬
ny judicious Remarks on the Difeafes of
thofe Countries. He lately informed me^
that fome Years ago they drank their Punch
there very acid, and that the Colica Piclo-
num was then very common and grievous.
Sufpedfing this very acid Punch to be the
Caufe of the Malady, they have fince drank
it much lefs four, and have been propor-
tionably more free from the Diforder.,
There were two Perfons on board Mr.
Loyd’s Ship, who had this Diftemper with
paralytic Limbs. They both of them had
drank Punch very freely, but neither of
them ever any Cyder. Perhaps the new-
hot raw Rum ufually drank here in Punch,
may alfo contribute fome thing to the Pro¬
duction of this Effecft, The dry Belly Ach
or Devonfhire Colic is alfo to be met with
on the Continent of North America though
not fo frequently as in the Iflands.
Mr. E— — . heretofore a healthy young
Gentleman
( 31 )
Gentleman of Oxford, born in Jamaica,
returned thither to fettle his Plantations ;
and, after a Refidence there of fome Years^,
where he drank four Punch freely, came
back to England with pendulous paralytic
Hands, and Legs not in much better Con¬
dition. Pie re then is an Endemiai Diftem-
per, exaftly the fame with the Devonfliire
and Poitou Colic, aflFedlina: the feveral de-
tached Parts of an extenfive Country, plainly
owing to an excefiive ufe of acid Punch,
without any ground of Sufpicion of a fatur-
nine Solution. This Argument is ftill fur¬
ther confirmed, by a w^ell known FacS:,
that in thofe Countries, where the rough
acid Wines of the Rhine and Mofelle are
drank, the People are afflicted with this
fame Malady.
Dodlor Baker’s Argument, P. 283,
that the diftilling Utenfils of Rnm‘|have
fome Lead in their Compofition, and there¬
fore that the Difeafe ought to be referred wholly
to Lead as the Cattfe^ is utterly inconclufive.
kade7i Alembics and leaden Worms^ as he
himfelf allows, are now entirely out of ufco
And even if they were now in Ufe, no fa-
turnine Impregnation would follow, Lead
being abfolutely indiffoluble in all diftilled
Spirituous Liquors, ,
!
Nor do I think that Sugar or Cyder, boil¬
ed
1
' ( 32 )
cd in a Furnace cappped with Lead, when
the Liquor doth not reach up to the Lead„
would diffolve that Metal ; though we arcL
told it would, P. 213, 285. The tops of:
Boilers in moft Gentlemen’s Houfes, where,
the large faked Meats are daily boiled, ara
commonly rimmed with Lead, as being:
cleaner and lefs apt to Ruft than Copper,,
or Brafs. But no ill Effeft is found from any
Solution of Lead made by the acid of the
Salt in conftantly dreffing fait Beef, Pork^
Flams, If the Lead here were folveable
by the Acid, according to the Eflayift’s
Hypothefis, half the Nation would be poi-
foned, and we fhould long ago have fre¬
quently been alarmed with the terrible Con-
fequences of the Ufe of fuch Veflels.
This Author contends, that an Acid can¬
not be the Cauje of the dry Belly Ach^ or Weft
India Colic ^Jince an acid Sherbet is very free f
tifed in Turkey^ and eljewhere^ without produ¬
cing this Difeafe.
By the wife Order of Providence, cooling;
acid Fruits abound in all hot Countries.
d'
Thefe are of infinite Ufe to check and tem¬
per that ftrong Difpofition of the Humours,
and particularly of the Bile, to a putrefcenijjj
alkaline State, which they acquire in warm I
Climates. But when acid Juices are taken
in Excels, as is the Cafe in the Weft Indies!
wher^i
( 33 )
t\'here they are ufed in Punch, on accoiirit
of the Plenty and cheapnefs of Rum, in faf
greater Quantity, than in Turkey, they are
^ oftentimes found to produce morbid Effedls^
and to occafion, efpecially in thin delicate
Conftitutions, the Colica Pidlonum, the
Biforder in Queftion/’
P. 14, No Acid^ as / before ohjerved^ is to
be found in the Blood,
If Dr. Saunders had added, in a jotind
State j perhaps he would have been nearer
the Truth. 1 he beft medical Writers talk
of an acid Acrimony in the Blood and Juices.
I know an eminent Phyfician, that frequent¬
ly orders a little Blood to be taken from the
Arm, in order to judgeof its fenfible Qiialities
by feeing, feeling and tafting. By the Tafte,
"he faith, he can difcover the Condition of
it, whether it be foft, arid bland, and neu¬
tral; or Verging to a putrefcent, or acefcent
State. Dr. Saunders therefore might have
, fpared his Joke, and wifb, that Mr. Geacii
had determined this Matter by his Tafte.
For the Thing has beerl fcriouhy put in
Praftice, and the Tafte made one Criterion
for afcertaining'the Quality of the Blood.
P. 14. What becaufe four Milk and Vine--
gar foften the cartilaginous ^ and tender Bones
of Infants^ and fometimes of Adult s^ that is
( 34 )
1 prefume, of dead Infants, and dead Adults ;
does it necejjarily follow, that the fame Effedt
will take Place in a living Body? 1 will be. bold
to fay, that Rickets are undoubtedly not pro¬
duced by an acid^
Mr. Geach evidently fpeaks here of
living Subjedis. I remember fbme chemi¬
cal Experiments were made at Oxford, to
prove, that fuch Acids may foften the Car¬
tilages, and Bones of living Infants, and
living; Adults. And the following: Cafe of
o o
a Patient was then accounted for on that
Principle. The Cafe was drawn up by
Mr. Mudge, an eminent Surgeon of Ply¬
mouth, and was printed many Years ago, >
I think, in the Gentleman’s Magazine. The
Patient’s name w^as Cofs, a Woolcomber of
Plymouth. It would be too long to recite
the Cafe at large. Suffice it to fay, that
the Bones of his Arms and Thighs gradu¬
ally grew fo foft and flexible, , that they
might almoft have been bended double,
like a Rod; the Skull became flattened
and pappy, the Breaf!: Bone foftened, and
llirunk in, the Neck and Spine yielded,
and funk down with the incumbent Weight,
and the Man at about the Age of forty,
when he died, fell in together like a fu¬
neral Pile, the Supporters having loft all
their Stability.
But
( 35 )
' J • - *
But I leave iome learned Gentleman of
the Faculty to engage Dr. Saunders on this
controverted Point. ^ I fliould not have
meddled with it, if he had not fo very
magifterially decided upon it by his own
Ipfe Dixit. For the Attack here was not
made upon me. See a fketch of the Caufe
and Nature of Rickets by an eminent Phy-r
fician, publifhed in_Mr, Geach’s Reply td
Dr. SaunderSo
P, 1 6. A French Writer is quoted hy you to
Jloew^ that Rhenijh and Mofelle Wines Occafion
the Colic by means of an Adulteration, ^ The
P of age referred to in your Efjay is as follows'^-
Ces Pins pechent fouvent par trop de Ferdeury
et les Marchands les out long Terns altere avec
la Litarge,. But Mr. Gedch attempts to, prove
from the Authority of this very Pafage^ Poat
Bdbeniflo and Mojelle Wines produce the Cblicl
by means of their acidity. ^ :
C 2 Mr.
« t The whole Sentence as printed in the EfTay,
P. 14, runs thus. Ce qu’ il y a de certain, c’eft, que
la Colique, dont il eit Quefiion, a ete epidl^mique^
dans les Pays, on Ion boit de Vins de Rhin et de Li
Mofelle, Ces Vins pechent fouvent par trop de Ver-
deur, et les Marchands les out long terns altere avec
la Li targe. That which may be affirmed here lor
certain, is, that the Colic in Queflion hath been E-
pidemic in the Countries, where they drink the Wines
of the Rhine and Mofelle. Thefe Wines often hurt
by their too much acidity, and the Merchants have
a long Time adulterated them with Litharge. Exa-
men d’un livre qui a pour tire Tronchin de Colica
Pidfonum, par un medecin de Paris, P. j.
( 3^ )
Mr. Geach attempts to prove, that thele
Wines may produce the Colic by means of
their too much acidity^ not trom the Autho¬
rity of this Paffage only, but from the Au¬
thority of other good Writers. SpigelmSy
he faySy obferved a Colic to return ‘periodically
by drinking four PVine, Fijo^ SennertuSy Ci-
teJiiLSy Cralo and JVepjer made nearly the fame
Qhfervation. Doctors Mufgrave and HiixhatJiy
afcrihe the DevonOoire Colic to the intemperate
Ufe of acid Cyder. P. 6, Mr. Geach, it muft
be owned, did not exprefs himfelf rightly,
in faying, the Mi ! chief proceeds y 7iot jrom the
Adultenitiony but the fournejs. For it is plain
this Author thought the Mifchief might pro¬
ceed from either. However he foon cor-
redts himfelf, by faying, greater Mijchief
may be done by the Adulteration. Thefe words,
Ces Vins pe client fouvent par trop de Fer-
deur. A4r. Geach Tranhates thefe Wines
often hurt by their too much Acidity. It
appears from Remark i, that I had made
much the fame Inference from thefe words,
and thought this French Author was of O-
pinion, that thefe Wines might Occafiori
the Colic by their too much Acidity, as well
as by their being adulterated with Litharge.
Accordingly I am introduced by this won¬
derful Hypercritic, as a fellow Blunderer,
or fellow Mifreprefenter with Mr. Geach.
For he fcurriloufiy makes it a Doubt, whe¬
ther to aferibe our Senfe of the Paffage to
Ignorance
( 37 )
Ignorance, or wilful Mifreprefentation :
Though the Balance feerns rather to incline
to the latter, to a defeft of Morals, rather
than Intelledl. Having in his own Con¬
ceit fet afide Mr. Geacli’s Tranhation, par¬
ticularly that of the word Pecbent^ as moft
erroneoufiy done, he then gives the fol¬
lowing of his own, as the true Conftruc-
tion of the firft Part of the Sentence, (about
the latter there is no difpute) ces Fins pe~
chent fouvent par trop de Ferdeur -, thefe
V/ines ane faulty by means of their acidity,
A wonderful amendment this truly! I really
muftbeg leave to replace Mr. Geachagain»
For this is no Tranllation at all. Only live
radical Words occur here; and two of
them, both Words of importance, foiivent,
and trop^ are entirely omitted. Well, but
the Strefs of the Controverfy, he’ll Cay,
lies in the Word Pechent^ which is mofi
erroneoufiy conftrued, hurt^ and ought to
be rendered, are faulty, I will not difpute
his Senfe of the Word, but I will difpute
his Inference, Pechent,, or Pecher^ is a Verb
neutral, and comes from the Latin Pecco^
to lin or offend, to commit a fault. And
this Idea being transferred to Subjects of
Tafte, Wines, which are faulty, not morally
but phyfically, can only be faulty, as they
are applied to Men, who drink them : And
to thofe who drink them, they are faulty
only, as being either hurtful to Health, or
C 3 difagreabk
/
( 38 )
\
4ilagreeable to the Tafte. I afk then^
what newer or better Senfe does it con¬
vey, to fay, thefe Wines are faulty by
means of their Acidity, than to fay, thefe
Wines are often hurtful, or often hurt, by
Reafon of their too much Acidity? But this
u4nfwerer will have nothing to be hurtful,
but Lead; and is afraid of admitting any
Degree of Acidity to be hurtful, leaf!: he
fhould hurt his leaden Caufe. Every Man
is his owm beft Interpreter : And furely
M. Bouvart, ' himfelf exprefsly faith, ^ fee
Remark i, that fharp auftere Wines may
produce nearly the fame fort of Colics, as
poifonous mineral Subftances. Is not this
as much as to fay ; i/je/e Wines may hurt by
their too much acidity ? What would this
mighty Critic have more to fix the right
Senfe? If ever there w^as Lead in any Com-
pofition, there is in this extraordinary Piece
of Critique, But I muft afk, why does he
conceal or drop the Words fouvent and trop?
His Tranilation runs; thefe Wines are jaulu^
* Ges trois caufes, Scavoir la Bile, les Matieres
minerales veni meufes,W/^j vim verds et aujieres, quoi-
<jue difFerentes en apparence, produifent, ma]gre ce
qiF en pent dire Mr. Tronchin, des Coliqnes, a pen
pres de meme eipece. Thefe three Caufes, to wit,
corrupt Bile, poifonous mineral Subfiances, and
raw auficre Wines, however different in appearance,'
may produce nearly the fame fort of Colics, notwith'^
lianding what M. Tronchin may alledge to the con«
Irary. Dr, Baker’s Effay P. 13.
( 39 )
by means of their acidity. But the Words are,
fhefe Wines are often faulty^ or hurtful^ by rea-
foil of their too much acidity. It is not limply
the acidity, as Dr. Saunders gives it, but
the Degree or Excefs of it, that conftitutes,
or caufes the Evil. Ail Wines contain in
them fome acid, more or lefs. It is one
of Nature’s conftant and neceffary Ingre¬
dients in the Compofition of Wine or Cy¬
der ; And the Fault and Hurt is, when the
acid is too great and predominant. And
therefore I repeat again here, what this-v
Gentleman takes fuch Exceptions at, remark
vii. that the acid of Wine, or Cyder, and
the fame may be faid of the Tartar or ef-
fential Salt, with which the Acid is combi^
ned, in a moderate Degree is, a proper
compotent Part of the Liquor, and Jalutaryj
altho’ in Excefs it becomes hurtful and dele¬
terious, as I think_j we have iliewn above.
Again, thefe Wines do not always hurt.
They ojten hurt ; particularly, when they
are produced in wet cold Seafons, or from
difadvantageous Expofures; when they are
not duly fermented, or, by over working,
approach the acetous Fermentation. In
thefe Cafes they difagree with many Con-
ftitutions, efpecially when drank in too
large Quantities, and generally produce
griping Pains in the Stomach and Bowels.
But even in thefe Cafes, fome People feel
no bad Effedts from drinking thefe Wines;
C 4 Tuft
( 40 )
Juft as fome People feel no bad Effe6ls from
drinking Cyders under the fame difadvan-
tageous Circumftances.
T.'hc whole of the mighty Matter here
referred to is only this. The V/ine-Mer-
chants of the Rhine and Mofelle, finding
their Wines were too rough and fharp, and
difagreable to the Palate^ and often pro¬
duced griping Pains in the Stomach and
Bowels, were informed by fome profound
German Chemift, that a fmall Quantity of
Litharge, dilTolved in them, would alter
their Quality, and render them fweeter,
and more agreaHe to the Tafte, For I,ead
Jin, Iron, like Pearl, Pot-Afh, and other
alkaline, or teftaceous Subftances, abforb
the acid, flop Fermentation, and give a
fvveetnefs to the Liquor, The Merchants
very readily followed the Advice ; cured
the fournefs, but poifoned the Wine, So
that the remedy became more pernicious
than the Difeafe ; and, like Dr. Saunders’s
Tranilation, the Alteration was only for
the worfe. ^
But
* Dr. Baker in the Republication of his EfTay,
fee P. 190 1 91 has very judicioufly omitted this fa¬
mous French Quotation, Ces Vim pechent feuvem
par trop de Verdeur, as making diredlly againft his
Do(ffrine, and has thereby abandoned poor Doficr '
K|iiaders, and all his learned Cpticifm,
( 41 )
But to quit the Coafts of the Rhine and
Mofelle, and come to the more amiable
Borders of the Ex, the Dart, the Plymp,
and the fweet winding Tamar, where I
much rather choofe to dwell ; it is moft
certain, that fome of our pomaceous Wines
do often hurt by reafon of their too much
acidity. And, on drinking fharp Cyder iii
any (^antity, efpecially what we call Rack-
ings, and Cyder of the firfl: Making, the
ufual drink of the lower Sort of People,
who are moft troubled with the Diforder,
pricking Pains in the Stomach, and Colic
generally enfue ; and it is cuftomary to mix
a little Milk, or Sugar with fuch Cyder, in
order to foften its (^ality, and make it fit
eafy on the Stomach ; or if the Cyder be
new, to throw in a little powdered Gin¬
ger, as a Carminative, to prevent Flatulency.
Dr. Saunders indeed P. i8, talks of a
. ^ certain white Powder, called Pearl, being
^ thrown into Cyder to fweeten it.’ But
how does he know, it is not thrown in to
jijie it, and that it is not pounded Ifing-
glafs. Pearl Allies, or common white Sand,
all which may be fometimes ufed for this
Purpofe } the Powder^ it feems, is a Secret.
And yet he has got into the Secret, and has
now divulged it. For every body muft fee,
he means by it fome powdered Preparation
of Lead. Otherwife the Powder had nobu-
, fineft
«
/
1
( 4^ )
iinefs here. He a'dds, t/jat this is not an un¬
common way of improving Cyder,
I really believe, the Gentleman knows
experimentally very little of the manage¬
ment, or improvement of Cyder. Lead may
fheath Acrimony, bnt it does not improve
Cyder. Good Cyder is fpoiled by it. Lead
gives a Sweetiflmefs, but it is a ma wkifh ful-
fom Sweetifhnefs. It deftroys the Brilknefs,
as well as abforbs the Acid, and renders
the Liquor vapid, flat. And to Perfons
accuftomed to Cyder, fuch an adulterated
Liquor may very eafily be diftinguiflied,
as wanting always that fpirited racy high
Flavour, fo perceiveable in generous pure
Cyder* An aigre pricked Cyder may re¬
cover a fweetifhnefs by Lead, And it is
poffible, that fome Dealers in London, or
other diflant Places, wdien they happen to
have a Caflc, purchafed and brought to them
at a confiderable Expence, turn four upon
their Hands, may try any means that may
be advifed, to make the Liquor faleablc.
But the Cyder-makers of Devon in general
know nothing of this faccharine Power of
Lead, unlefs they have lately learnt it from
the EJjay ; nor, when they happen to have
fuch a Calk of bad Cyder, do they think of
any other Management, but that of giving
it away more plentifully to their People
and chance Comers, and thereby the fooner
getting rid of it, Having
( ' 43 )
*
Having replied to every Thing refpeft-
ing myfelf in the preceding Part of the
'J^nfwer, we novv come to the two Letters
of Mr. More ; One whom Mr. Geach calls a
Chemiji^ and whom Dr. Saunders, an inge~
nkus Gentleman^ who teaches Chenii/iry^'^ doth
not call a Chemift.
It fhould feem, by the firft Letter, that
Mr. More‘gave the firft Flint of Shot being
in the bottled Cyder, from whence the firft
Extract and ^JJhy were made; and that Dr.
Saunders had not expreffed any Sufpicion
thereof, ’till Mr. More convinced him of
the Truth of it by fiifficient Reafons. The
Lead, which Dr. Saunders picked out of
the Extraft, was of a globular, or Shot like
Form, and malleable. “ Now Mr. More
confidered, that Lead, diflblved by the acid
of Cyder, muft be fomewhat in the State
of Saccharum Saturni, a friable, unmallea-
ble Subftance, and, not to be reduced to
pure Lead again, without fome Phlogifton,
and a degree of melting Heat. Mr. More
therefore very pertinently afked, whether
the Extraft had been made as hot as melted
Lead. To which Dr. Saunders replied ;
He thought y it had not. Mr. More confi¬
dered
So Dr. Saunders is Charadterized: ElTay P. 35,
though it was thought proper to fupprefs this Com¬
pliment on a Revifion and new Publication of the
Work, P. 219.
( 44 )
' dered farther, that although the Extradl
fhould have been made hot enough to melt
Lead, that Lead diffolved by the Cyder,
and dlffufed through the Extradl, would
not of itfelf have been regenerated, with¬
out fome Phlogifton, nor, with a Phlogifton,
have run into the form of Shot. Such Glo¬
bules muft be run by Art. This Extradl had
not yet been burnt in a Crucible. With
Reafon then he concluded, that thefe Glo¬
bules could be no other than Shot, carelefs-
ly left in the Bottles after w^afhing ; And
which, on the Bottles being now afrefh
moved and agitated, w^ere difengaged there¬
from, and poured out with the Cyder to
make the ExtraSl,
* \
Dr. Saunders, jealous, left this Gentle¬
man fliould run away with all the Honour
of the firft Difcovery, and that his own Sa¬
gacity might be called in Queftion, informs
us, that He too was furprized to find in the
Extradl, a fmall Quantity of malleable Lead^
and that he diredlly fufpedled it might arife
from Shot in the Bottles; and meeting with
Mr. More, immediately hinted to him his
Sufpicion.
Nm nojirnm inter VOS tantas componere Tites.
It is not for me to decide on fo great a
ponteft. Perhaps Both might be original
Difcoverers. Ef
/
I
( 45 )
0
Et vitula T^u dignus^ et H/V,~Virg.
But whoever was the firft Difcoverer^ it
feems unlucky, that thefe Dodtors fhould
ftumble, as I may fay, in the veryThreih-
hold. Dr. Saunders fhould then have fol¬
lowed Mr. More’s wholfome Advice—have
defifted from all farther Attempts, as it
feemed to be with unfortunate Omens,
and iratis Diis, that they were profecuting
their Undertaking. Still however He will
go on, but again with no better Succefs. The
iecond Evaporation was made of Cyder
impregnated with Shot in the Bottles. For
Mr. More in his fecond Letter faith. Dr.
Saunders to^d him^ that on flraimng this Cyder
through a Cloth ^fome Shot were adliially found
in the Cloth. ^ And how much more might
be left ftuck fafl in the Bottles nobody
knows. And from this Cyder Experiment
V. P. 45 was made, on which the main Strefs
is laid to prove, that Devonfhire Cyder is
impregnated with Lead at the Pounds. It
is amazing, that Dr. Saunders fhould ftili
, proceed to evaporate this Cyder, and think
it a proper Specimen to prove the Matter
in Qeeftion ? He found fome Shot aftually
is
* Dr. Saunders informed Dr. Baker, that in the
Cloth, through which the Liquor had pafled, there
were two or three Granules of Lead. Medical
Tranfaclions, P, aaB, Granules in plain Englijh here
fignify Shot.
1
( 4^ )
f
in the Cloth. Some more very likely would
have been found between the Bulge and
the Sides, if he had carefully probed, or
broken the Bottles. To what purpofe ^
Ihouldhe ftrain the Cyder through a Cloth,
but to catch the Shot, if there were any;
and if there were any, to rejeftthe Liquor?
It is no wonder that Mr. More ufed many
arguments P. 27, to diflwade him from
purfuing fuch an Enquiry, and refufed either
to encourage, or even be VVitnefs to any
fuch Experiments, which might be con-
dueled in fuch a Manner, as to prove very
difagreable, and prejudicial to his very
good Friends of Devon. For what Stran¬
ger would care to buy, or what Native
would choofe to drink Devonlhire Cyder-
who knew the pernicious Effefts of Lead,
if they were made to believe, that four
Gallons of that Cyder, made at a Pound
that had no Lead in the Apparatus, except
only the fmall portion that was applied in
Compofing the Trough, contained four
Grains and a half of Lead. See Eflay P. 35 '
Was it through Ignorance, that Dr. Saunders
would go on with the Procefs, and did not
know that this Cyder, as having flood upon
leaden Shot, was an improper Subje6l for
the purpofe ? Or did he wilfully mean to im-
pofe both upon Dr. Baker and the Public,
and provided he could feemingly eftablifh
his Point, regard not by what Art, or Means
He
( 47 )
He did it ? The Secret of the leaden Shot
might never have come out, if Mr. More
had not perceived and publifhed it. The
Experiment might have been deemed deci-
five as to that fpecimen of Cyder; (For our
Anjwerer is not fo candid as to inform the
Public, what he acknowledged to Mr. More
‘that Lead was found in the Cloth on ftrain-
ing the Cyder for the lecond Afl'ay) and
the innocent Pounds would have been
wounded by the guilty Shot, through the
Fault of the Operator. what name Jh all
I call fuch a proceeding? (For I may juftly
retort upon him his own fevere words,
in the famous critical Stricture above men¬
tioned, P. 1 8, and which were very illi¬
berally, and unjuftly applied to me and Mr«
Geach) By what name jloall I call juch a pro¬
ceeding? There appear to be too evident Marks
of Ignorance j for us to fufpedl mere wilful Im-
pofition: And at the fame Time there appear
too evident marks of ImpoJitioUj for us to fuf
peel only Ignorance,
P. 27, Dr. Saunders himfelf is aware,
that every body would fee the Imperfection
and Futility of this laft Affay; and therefore
adds : If the Public fhovld fiill hefitate about
the validity of this laft Affay ^ as being made
from bottled Cyder ^ their doubts will be remo¬
ved^ when your Papers are publifJjed,
Their
( 48 )
T'heir Doubts arife not merely from^ the
Aflay being made from bottled Cyder, but
from bottled Cyder, confeffedly containing
leaden Shot; and from other rcafons fet
forth in this Reply. Whether their Doubts
will be removed by any future Publications,
it will be Time enough to eonfider, when
thefe promifed Publications fhall appear. ^
P. 27, It may perhaps be of fome Service
to Mr, More^ if 1 publickly acknowledge^ that
he ufed many Arguments to difjuade me from
purfuingfuch an enquiry ; and ref ufed either
to encourage y or even be a Witnefs to any ex'^
perimentSy which might end in Difcoveries in
any way difagreeable to his very good Friends
of the County of Devon.
f
This frank acknowledgment is a very
grateful return for Mr. More’s Kindnefs ;
who endeavoured all he could to hinder
the Gentleman from purfuing this vifiona-
ry Search after Lead; which he thought
would be as vain, as the Search for the Phi-
lofophePs Stone, It muft alfo recommend
Mr. More to the Inhabitants of Devon, as
it Ihews how cautious he was of bringing
any evil Report upon our Cyder, by refufing
to become a Party to fuch vague and indi^
gefted
* Thefe promifed Publications have now appeared
with what EfFed, will be confidered by and by.
/
( 49 )
gefted Schemes. Not that he was appre-
henfive,* thefe Experiments would end in
any Difcoveries, which w^ould really fhew
the Devonlhire Cyder to be infected by
the Pounds, as Dr. Saunders irronically
here infinuates. Only he thought foroe
Doubts might arife— fome abfurd Prejudices
might be taken — -fome timorous People
might be frightened by a Shadow, and the
poifonous Doftrine be propagated, where
the Antidote mi^ht noi have the 2:0 od Luck
o o
to appear.
\
But although Mr. More declined being
any ways concerned in thefe Experiments ;
yet for his own Satisfadlion, and that of the
Public, he made the following Experiment
hfmfelf. He procured fome Devonfhire
Cyder, which he knew had been brought
to London in a Calk, and had never been
bottled. Pie dropped into a Wine Glafs
full of this Cyder, four Drops of a filtered
Deco6lion of Orpiment in lime ¥/ater. A
fmall Precipitation followed ; but the Liquor
was not in the leaft difcoloured. But a-
bout half a Pint of the fame Cyder being
poured into a Phial, into which he had
previoufly put two fmall Pieces of Lead, and
left to ftand five Days ; and four Drops of
the Orpiment Liquor being dropped into
a Wine Glafs full of it ; not only a Precipi¬
tation followed, but the Liquor became o
D
#
( 50 )
a darkifh brown Colour: A Proof that fomc
of the Lead was dillblved.
Here then is one fair Proof, according
to Dr, Saunders’s own Principles, that De-
vonlhire Cvderfrom the Cafk contained no
Portion of Lead in it. In confirmation of this,
I tried feveral Specimens of my own, and
other People’s Cyder, particularly fonie
Cyder from the leaden Prefles at Alphing-
ton, and Sharpham, with the iifiial Tefts,
and none of them gave the leail Marks of
a fatiirnine Solution ; ^ as hath been partly
noted before, and will be farther noted
hereafter.
I now come to Dr. Saunders’s particular
Answers to my Remarks, For hitherto we
have been debating only upon Prelimina¬
ries. I am afraid my Performance will
make but a grotefque Figure, as the Porch
or Entrance may he larger than the FJoufe.
This Plan however my Antagonift has o-
bilged me to follow: And Confinement to
a Plan is always an Excufe for the Defor¬
mity of the Strucdiire.
P. 28, Mr. AlcocRs Remarks are rather
more fenfibly Written^ than the Obfervations
of Mr, Geach; and^ .1 thinks they really defer ve
io have taken Place of the other Performance,
~ In
See back P. 19,
( 51 )
In the Beginning of this Piece we were
called a formidable Confederacy, Here the
Adverfary is endeavouring to break the
Confederacy, and artfully fet us on quar¬
relling for Precedency.
Sed timeo Danao£^ et Dona ferentes.
Small indeed is the comparative Com¬
plement here paid me^ when it makes my
Performance but juft exceed fuch a Jlimfy
and Jhadowy bVork^ fligmatizedfor being fo un-'
candid in its Obfervations ^ and jo inconclujive
as to its Argument,
P. 28, Why Mr, Geach^ who ajks Permif-
fion 10 prefix them to his Work,, places them in
the Rear ^ except from a Senfe of his own fit-
periorityy I cannot conjeciure.
But did this Gentleman never read of
the Tdriarii among the Romans, who were
fome of their moft depending Troops, and
were always placed in the Rear ; and who,
if the Front or Centre were broken, or gave
way, feldom failed to reftore the Battle,
and carry off the Vidlory? Or if this doth
not fliew the Reafon ; perhaps Mr. Geach,
might put my ' Remarks in the Rear, as the
Epigrammatift puts the main Turn or Sting
in the Tail, in order to giee a Spirit and Poig- ^
nancy to his Piece. Or if neither of thefe
D 2 Reafon
( 52 )
'Reafons will exculpate Mr. Geach from the
, Charge of affuming an undeferved fuperio-
rity; ftiil I fay, he may be juftified by a
Figure in Rhetorick, called Hx^eron Prote-
roily by which the laft may be put firft. This
Fimire Dr. Saunders himfeif muft neceffa-
o
rily have recourfe to. For F. ijy he calls
my work a Supplement. Now it can only
be by Virtue of Hyfteron Proteron, that a
Supplement can take the Lead.
P. 28;> Thefe Remarks are according to Mr,
Alcocky only curfory ; and verily a man^ veh
runSy may anfwer them.
Here the Dodlor retradfcs all the Comple-
ment of Superiority he had juft before made
ihe. 1 dare fay, he fat dowm, when he An-
fwered Mr. Geach. But my Remarks are
fo fuperficial, that he can ruUy and Anfwer
them. This Running Anfwer however is not
an Anfwer. An Anfwer implies, removing
of Objections, invalidating Aflertions, de-
tedling falfe Reafonings, and re-eftablifhing
in the Mind of the Reader a Conviftion
of the main Point in Queftion, But has
the Gentleman done this, fs one Rea¬
der in a Hundred, of thofe, who are pro¬
per Judges in this Controverfy, who
know how little Lead there is in our
Pounds, and that in many there is none
at all, how faft the Muft flows down from
■ '<
( 53 , )
the Prcfs, and how flow a Solvent it is, if
indeed it be a folvent, of crude Lead ^ that
the Lead in the Troughs feems to fuffer
no Diminution from the Liquor, and in
many Pounds is not replaced again in a
Century, — - — that what little Diminution
it doth falfer, is aparently caufed by
Fridlion, or by the Acidum Vagum, of-
the Air, like the corroded Lead in \il{^in-
dows, rather than by Solution from the
Acid of the newly expreffed Juice of the
Apples; I fay, is one in a Plundred of
fuch Readers convinced, that the Lead
in our Apparatus for Cyder-making im¬
pregnates the Devonlliire Cyder, and is
the only Caufe of the Devonfhire En-
demial Colic ? Plave the ' Fellows of the
College of Phyficians, have the eminent
Chemifts of London all declared for him?
D 3 I
^ In a former Trial, I found the Miifl: received no
Impregnation in three Days, fee?. 19, I now put
three limall Pieces of Lead into a half Pint Phial of
very fweet Miifl, juft taken from the Prefs. At the
end of feven Days 1 tried it with Tindture of Sulphur.
Some Precipitation defeended, but very flowly, and
fbme hung in Flakes in the middle of the Glafs.
The Precipitation was of a milky Colour : A ligii
that the Muft had as yet difiblved none of the Lead,
although it had now undergone tome Degree of Fer¬
mentation, and was become new Cyder. Some of the
Precipitate hanging in Flakes in the middle of the
Glafs ftiewed, as was obferved before, that the Acid
in the Liquor, even now, was very little, and not
fufficient quite to difengage the Sulphur from the
/
( 54 )
I am very fure that fome of them have not.
One of the College, a very good Judge in
thefe Matters, writes to me thus. ^ I have
penifed all the three Pamphlets in Queftion,
^ You may 3 I am fitisfied, defy any man
‘ to prove a Solution of Lead, in Devon-
fhire Barrel Cyder, as it comes from the
^ Pound. The Notion is a mere Chimera.
You have certainly the Tiuth of the Ar-
^ moment on vour Side, I muft take
the Liberty therefore to offer an Amend-
ment to the Title of Dr. Saunders’s Piece,
and call it a Reply^ not an Anjwer, The
Reafon of this, I prefume, hath in Part
appeared already, and will farther ap¬
pear in the Sequel.
P. 285 The jirj}. Remark has already been
confidered in Part,
Yes, and it has been re-confidered :
And a fatisfadtory Reply, I think, has
been made to what the Gentleman had
offered upon it. See P. 35, 36,
P. 28, In medical Matters we pay Ada-
htion to no Ipfe Dixit; nor do we allow ^
that the Authorit'^ oj any Man can Stamp
infallibility on Opinions ^ wPich are not efta-
blifhed by Experiment.
This Gentleman declares againft all
ipp
f
( 55 ) '
Ipfe Dixits^ and yet lie appears to be
an Ipfe Dixit himfelf in feverai Places5
particularly where he fo authoritatively
pronounces^ that Rickets are undoubtedly
not produced by an Acid. But I never
meant to fet up Mr. Bouvart for an Ipfe
Dixit. The Authority of many of our own
Phylicians would go as far with me. It
was argumeiitum ad Hominem. Dr,
Baker gave Mr. Bouvart his Confequence-*
broifght him into the Field; and I only
turned his own Artillery againft him.
I am as much againft Infallibility, whe-»
ther religious or medical, as this Dr.
Saunders can be. But fome Regard is
due to the Opinions of wife and expe-^
rienced Men in their Profeffions. Dr.
Huxham and Mr. Bouvart are mentioned
as Authorites, that raw auftere Wines or
Cyder may produce, or contribute to pro¬
duce, the Colic of Pcitou or Devon. And
their two joint Authorities, not to Mention
Boerhaave, Mufgrave, Citois, Grato, &c„
may perhaps carry as much Weight as two
other joint Authorities^ who are of a dif¬
ferent Opinion.
P. 28, Remark ii. The Gentleman is dij-
pofed to make himfelf merry on the SuhjeB of
Iron Cramps,
D 4 And
* See Medical Tranfaftions, P. 338*.
’ ( 56 )
And V7ho could forbear Laughing, to
fee the Herefordfhire, Gloucefterlhire,
and VVorcefterfliire People defcribed, as
fo very fagacious and cautious with re-
fpedl; to the A^rticle of Lead in their Uten'-
his of Pounding? Would not any One
think, that feme kind Genius, or ano¬
ther good Dr. Saunders had gone round
the Country to all the Gentlemen and
Farmers there, telling them, Beware
of Lead, beware of the leaft Portion
^ of Lead in your Pounds. It will poi-
^ fon your Cyder, dertroy your Health,
^ and injure your Property, by bringing
your Liquor into Difefteem, and your
Cyder Manufadlure to naught. This
‘ Secret I communicate only to you. Let
the ftupid Damnonians ftill go on in
‘ their own leaden JVay^ and be colicked
and paljicd to Death.
♦
P. 28, JVbat is /aid of Her€for(yhife
Troughs ^Jlands on the Authoyity of Dr, Wall^^
_ _ _ _
* Dr. Wall’s Words, as cited in the Ejjay P. 26,
are thele. ‘ ‘I'here is no Lead, which can give Occafion
^ to that Colic, ufed in any Fart of the /Ipparaius for
^ grinding or preftng the' Apples, or fermenting the Li-
^ quor. There is a Cyder Frefs covered with floeet Lead
‘ on the Borders of Warwick floire. But this // a fm~
^ gular, and perhaps the only inflance of the Kind in
^ this Fart of England: On the Authority of ano-
ther Perfon, Dr. Baker fays: The Stones of the Troughs
‘ or Mills are joimd together ivith futty made of Whiting
^ Sind Oil,
r
( 57
c/ JVorceJler. A Gentleman^ ivhofe l.eanmg
and Accuracy are well known. No other An-
fwer is necejjary.
Perhaps the Public may think by and
by, that fome other An fwer is neceiPary*
Dr. Waifs I ..earning, Accuracy, and other
good Qualities, no Body controverts.
However I may obferve, the Vifiting of
Pounds was not a likely Part of Dr. Wall’s
Bulinefs ; and as there was no Difpute
heretofore on the Subjedl, his Accuracy
might not have extended to fuch minute
Enquiries. Dr. Wall has for fome Time,
I apprehend, declined much of his ri¬
ding Praclice^ and confequently cannot
fay with fo much Certainty, as if he were
an Eye witnefs, what is the State of
Pounds in thofe Countries at this Time.
Hereford always lay a good deal out of
the Circuit of his Vifitation ; fo that his
Knowledge of the more diftant Parts of
that County, as to the Points in Que-
Hion, muft in all Probability have been
received chiefly from the Information of
Others. We may fay therefore, that there
may poffibly be Lead in fome, in many
of the Pounds of thefc Cyder Counties,
without cafting any Reflediion on ]3r.
Wall’s Learning or Accuracy. Now I, and
a Friend of mine lately talked with a
Perfon^ who was bora auxd bred in He¬
re ford (hire
( 58 )
refordHiire, who lived in the midft of
the Cyder-makers, and yearly afiifted in
the Work ; and he declared, that he has
feen many Preffes near the Borders of
the Wye covered with Iheet Lead. I
muft obferve farther, that a Gentleman
of Devon, a Neighbour of mine, Peter
Madock Dofton, Efq; whofe Veracity
and Attention may be relied on, happened
to take a Journey not long fince into Wor-
cefterfhire ; And hearing at the Inn, that
a Perfon of the Neighbourhood w^as then
Pounding, he had the Curiofity to go
to fee the Pound, and found the Inter-
ftices or Jundlures of the Stones in the
Trough filled up with melted Lead. This
was at Upton upon/ Severn, but ten, or
eleven Miles from Dr. Wall. This was
the only Pound the Gentleman faw in
Worcefterfhire, except one, wdiich he did
not examine as to this Article, Here-
fordfhire he did not go into: And it would
be very extraordinary, if this firft fhould
be the laft, and only one of the Sort
in thofe Counties. Is no other Anfwer
then neceflary? However to put the Mat¬
ter out of all Difpute, and to fhev/, how
very vague, and how little to be de¬
pended on thefe Gentlemen’s Accounts
are with refpedl to the Abfence of Lead
in the Apparatus of Cyder-making in thefe
Counties ; I fliall pafs from hearfay-
evidence
$
( 59 )
evidence^ and relate what I myfelf was
Aiitopas^ an adlnal Spedlator of in the
Month of July laft. In my Way from
Worcefter to Herefordfliire^ I Hopped
at the Crown Inn at Malvern. The
Miftrefs of the Inn told me Hie laboured
under a paralytic Stroke ; Whether from
drinking Cyder, or the Colic, I know not.
I aflvcd the Son, whether there were any
Pounds in the Town. He faid he would
iTew me one juft over the Way., We
faw it. The Trough confifted of four
circular Pieces of Stone, and each of the
four Junftures was filled, up, not with
Putty made only of Oil and Whitings
as Dr. Saunders teaches us, but entirely
with melted head, Malvern is in Wor-
cefteiftiire. The Pound belongs to the
Minifter of the Place, the Reverend Mr.
Philips, and feem.s, like the Building over
it, to be of pretty long ftanding. I
afked feverai Perfons on the Road, as
well as here, whether it w^as not ufnal to
fill up the Chinks, or Jundtures in their
Troughs with Lead; And they faid yes,
it was always ufual, if the Stones were
not united fo clofely, as to prevent Leak¬
age. 1 he Cramps I learned on Enquiry
are fometimes placed infide, but more
generally outlide the Curb. However
in fome Places they infert the Cramps
in the bottom of the Trough or Groove,
and
( 6o )
■and faften them with Lead. But thefe
CrampS;, a Perfon told me, are found in¬
convenient, and apt to feratch the People’s
Hands in taking up the Pomage. Paffing
on by Malvern Well^ where there feems
to be a good Houfe for the Reception
of Strangers, and over Malvern Hills,
which are very high, but not barren, or
unpleafant, I proceeded to Ledbury in
Herefordfliire ; a Place noted for making
much and good Cyder.' A great deal
is bought here, as it comes from the
Prefs, by Cyder Dealers in Upton ; who^
after having fermented, racked and fined
it. Ship it down the Severn for the Mar¬
kets of Gloucefter, Briftol, Bath, Lon¬
don, ^c. The Clerk of the Paridi of
Ledbury fhewed me, in the Street leading
to Gloucefter, one of the beft and largeft
Pounds in the Town. ,Many People bring
their Fruit here to be Pounded, And
I think, he told me they can break and
prefs in one Day, enough to make ten
of their Hogfheads, which are equal to
near twenty of ours. I obferved fome
Particulars in the ftrufture of the Machine,
and the Execution of their Pounding Work,
which would be improvements, if intro¬
duced into Devon. But what is moft to
my purpofe at prefent, and which I men¬
tion, not to be imitated, but avoided ; I
obferved that the whole Prefs or Vat here
I
was
%
( .61 )
was covered over with fheet Lead. I
faw no other Pound in the Town, nor
indeed did I enquire about any other. I
alked if the Cyder of this Pound did not
give the Colic. He anfwered, no, not
any more than any other Pounds, that
had no Lead at all. Some Perfons however
he faid of late did not like thefe leaden Pref-
fes. I could perceive he had heard fome-
thing of the leaden Difpute. Forhefeemed
fhy of letting me fee the Prefs, and guef-
fed I was a Devonihire Man. My Infor¬
mant farther told me, that for the readier
Difpatch of Bufinefs, it was ufual in fome
Places, he mentioned one Place within
a Mile of the Town, to convey the Cy¬
der from the Prefs by leaden Pipes into
the Cellar. I muft add, what Dr. Baker
allows he has been informed of, P. 209,
in the Republication of his Effay^ that it
is a Method fometimes praBifed in Hereford-
/hire to rack the Cyder into leaden Cijierns^
when the Liquor frets too much, and is
in Danger of becoming acetous. The
fame Gentlemen alfo admits P. 206, that
if any of the Stones in the Eroiighs flart^ they
are repaired with Iron Cramps fajlened with
Lead.
Meeting with Lead thus both in the
Trough and Prefs; and the Reader muft
confider, that I met with it, by taking
the
( 62 )
the firft Pounds, that came in my Way,
without any previous Information, and
that therefore a great deal more might
very reafonably be expected to be found
on traverfing the Country, and that thefe
are only Specimens of many others of
like Sort; 1 fay meeting with Lead thus
both in the Trough and Prefs, fuffici-
ently confirming the Accounts of the two
Perfons above mentioned, I thought I had
no need to go on farther in fearch of
Proofs, that thefe Counties in leverai
Places contain in their Implements of Cy“
der-making Lead fiifficient to give them
the Colic, according to the Arguments
of the Gentlemen I am contending with ;
Since the fame Portions of Lead, juft fo
circumftanced, give it, as they allege, in
Devonfliire.
The Argument to be deduced from
hence for the innocence of our Devon**
fhire Pounds is very ftrong. Dr. Baker
fet out on this principle and Dr*
Saunders defends it, that the Lead in
our Apparatus for making Cyder gives
the Devonfhire Colic. The Counties of
Hereford, Worcefter and Gloucefter, ac¬
cording to thefe Gentlemen, have no ilich
Colic
* See Effay, P. 29. Dr. Baker acknowledges this
2c8 Medical 'Franfadians.
( 63 )
Colic, and confequently can have no Lead
in their Apparatus for making Cyder.
But now it appears, that they have Lead
in their Troughs and Preffes, and other
Utenfils, in a Quantity fufficient, as it
would be thought in Devon, to produce
the Colic. If Lead in the Pounds and
Preffes be the Caufe of the Colic in the
Weft; Why fhould not the fame Caufe
produce the fame Effedt in the North
Eaft? Either both countries muft be CuU
prits in this Cafe, or both be innocent.
Thefe Gentlemen by their Tefts and Tef-
temonials have abfolved the one. And
therefore I fhall take upon me to acquit
the other.
P. 29. jilphington being a Place famous
for making good Cyder ^ and being fo very
near to Exeter ^ it was mo ft obvious to try
your Experiments mi the Cyder of that
'^Parifla.
How came Dr. Saunders to know, that
Alphington is a Place famous for making
good Cyder ? Certainly it is not fo famous
as many other Places in the County. And
the late Accounts given of it muft tend
rather to mako it loofe Credit. That it was
moft obvious, that is to fay, moft convenient
for Dr. Baker, when he was at Exeter,
to get his Cyder from hence, is very true.
But
( 6.4 )
But was the moft obvious or eafy Method
the moft proper ? If the Effayift had only
wanted to flatter felf Deceit, and make
Experiment quadrate wa’th Hypothefis,
the Cyder of this Pound, as having the
Prefs covered with ilieet Lead, might
indeed be the moft proper tor the Pur-
pofe. But was the Liquor of fuch a Pound
a prop(?r Specimen to draw a general
Conclufion from ? Dr« Baker mentions
only a leaden Prefs at Alphington. Dr,
Saunders, P. 24 fays, the Cyder
from leaden Pipes at Jliphington, A Con-
jundhon of leaden Prejsy and leaden Pipes ^
if true, is very rare, and what renders
a Specimen of this Cyder ft ill more ex~
ceptionable. Muft the Cyder of live
Hundred, of five Thoufand Pounds^ many
of which have no Lead in their Appa-
ratus, and the reft none, except a little
in the cramp Holes, which cannot poffl"
bly affedt the Liquor, or not more than,
fome of the Pounds in the North Eaflern
Counties mufl: affeft their Cyder, which
is abfolved by thefe Gentlemen of all
faturnine Faultinefs, and which I mean
not to Charge with any Fault, but only
to exculpate our own ; I fay, muft the
Cyder of five Hundred, I might fay of
five Thoufand Pounds, which have no Lead
in the Apparatus, or none, except a little
as mentioned above, that is run into the,
cramp
( % }
cramp Holes, not containing* ordinarily
above four or five fqnare Inches of Sur¬
face, be therefore thought to be impreg¬
nated with that Metal, and in confe-
qiience thereof to give the endemiai Co¬
lic ; becaufe twenty or thirty Preffes lined
wo th a Plate of Lead, containing, perhaps,
fome hundred Iquare Inches of. Surface,
fhoukl (be fuppofed to give fome fatur-
nine Impregnation to the Liquor? As w^ell
might this Anjwerer conclude, that all
the Waters in our County ^re poifoned,
becaufe a Spring here and there, running
over a large Bed of Tin, Copper, or
Mundick, may happen to contrail a bad
Quality.
I had fald under Remark hi. that very
few Cyder Prefles in Devon aie lined
with Lead. I know of none, I have
heard of none, within 20 Miles of my
Neighbourhood. The above named Alr«
Cockey of Totnefs, writes, that he can
hear but of five in all that Dilliiil ;
a Diftriif remarkable for Plenty and
Goodnefs of Cyder, On more particu¬
lar Enquiry, I do find, that towards the
eafterh Parts of the County, there are
more of thefe Preffes. Dr. Saunders
faith, they are got, as far as Number xxx,
with their Lift. For it feems, they have
been fearching as diligently for Lead in
E Pounds,
\
( 66 )
PoundvS, as for hid l^reafure. The Num“=
ber of Parifhes in Devon is near 400^
and if with fome Perfons we fuppofe,
there be 6000 Pounds in the County^
tho’ others think there are more, what
a fmall Proportion do the leaden Preffes
bear to thofe that are not fuch? And
how wrong muft it be to draw fuch ge¬
neral Conclufions from fuch partial Pre-
mifes? A provincial Difeafe muft have
a provincial Caufe. Let them enquire,
and fearch farther, and raife the Num¬
ber to forty, fifty, or fi:Kty, if they can ;
ftill we have fuper-abundant Odds a-
gainft them, and can contraft their Units
with Hundreds.
I have gone here on the Suppolition,
that Preffes covered with fheet Lead, or a
border of Lead, may impart fome noxious
quality to the Liquor : But I do not really
mean to make this Conceffion. I believe,
I had no need to objedl againft the impro¬
priety of Dr. BakePs Specimen, but might
fafely joiniffue upon the Alphington Pound,
and by That leave the Point to be tried,
whether our Devonfhire Pounds and Pref¬
fes in general impregnate the Cyder with
a faturnine Solution, fufficient to produce
the endemial Colic, or, with any Solution
at all. The Reader will be pleafed to
remember what was faid before * that
Vinegar
* See P. 18, 19, 23,
V
( ^7 )
<
Vinegar itfelf is a very flow diffolvent
of crude Lead,- - that the Metal mufl:
be drawn into very thin Plates and ex-
pofed for a fortnight or three Weeks to¬
gether to the warm circulating Vapour
of this fl-rong vegetable Acid, ^ before it
will be confiderably corroded- — that the
Mufl: as it runs down from the Prefs is
bland, mucilaginous, fvveet as Honey,
and feems to fhew little of that corro*^
ding Acid, which is extricated or de¬
veloped by Fermentation — that a Piece
of Lead put into a Glafs of frefh Muft
gave not the leafl: Impregnation in three
Days— that not lefe than four or five Hogf-
heads of this fweet Mufl: fometimes run
down in fo many Hours, particularly from
the fcrew Prefles. Doth it feem probable^
doth it feem poffible, that all this Liquor^
fo fwiftly paffing over the Prefs, fhould be
fo fenfibly Impregnated by the crude Lead,
as to produce the endemial Colic.
- --Credat ludaui A'pella.
Dr. Saunders talks, P. 21 of the Agi¬
tation of the Muji^ as a circumflance, that
will necejjarily facilitate^ and help to promote
the Solution of the Lead, Mere Words ! 1
know of no fuch Agitation or Reverbe¬
ration of the Muft. The Liquor is pref-
fed out on an inclined Plain, and im-
E 2 mediately
( 68 )
mediately flows off with a Smooth con¬
tinued Stream through the Spout^ like
Water down a Brook. Surely Dr. Saun¬
ders muft be hard preffed, or he would
not have had reeourfe to fuch a trifling
Argument, to procure a little Solution
of Lead. ^
P. 295 lie WjW finds hlmfelf unde?'' the
iieceffit'j of faying^ that periaps all the dif¬
ference of Colour might be oiceing to a greater
Degree of Acidity in the Devonfhire Cyder.
I found myfelf under no neceffity of
faying this, in Order to fupport my Caufe.
My Pofition was, that the E^^periment
made of the Alphington Cyder, allow-
^ ing it to be conclufive at all, concludes
^ only as to fuch Sorts of Preffes, lined
^ with Lead, and not as to the Weft-
^ Country Cyder Preffes in general.’ This
Pofition ftiil remains unfhaken. I added,
‘ it were to be wuihed, the Effayifl: had
^ made his Trials from other and fairer
^ Specimens. A Repetition of Experi-
ments might perhaps Difcover fome
^ Miftakes. Perhaps all the difference
of
^ Dr. Baker having obferved, Ejfay P. 44, that
four Experiments were made on Devoniliire
and PJerefbrdfhire Cyder, and that the former, on
the Application of different Tells, gave Marks of a
leaden
( 69 )
” of Colour might be oweing to a greater
degree of Acidity in the Devoniliire^
^ than in the Herefordfhire Cyder.’
Rich good Cyder well f#rmented5 and
fine, turns of a bright amber Colour.
Thin poor Cyder, made of Wind fallen,
or unripe Fruit, or drawn from the Rack-*
ings, is always of a greenifti or wheyifh
Caft. Cyder alfo made of certain Sorts
of Apples turns blue on being expofed
to Air. This Colour I then thought might
poffibly have been Miftakea for a plum-
bean Teint. I do not difpute the Prin¬
ciple, that the more Acid the Cyder ^
the lighter the Colour of the Precipitate
will be. But I am doubtful, whether the
Dark Precipitation occafioned by the Dejls
E3 * be
leaden Solution, but that the latter gave none; adds:
The fame Experiments were afterwards tried on fever al
other Specimens of Devon fei re and Herefordfleire Cyder.
The Refult of them was co7iftantly and. uniformly the
fame. And yet in a Revifion of the lame EfTay pua-
iifhed in Medical Tranfadtions P. 226, he candidly
acknowledges, that an Exception ought to be made
as to three, or four Inffances. Three Bottles of dif¬
ferent Kinds of Devonfidre Cyder ^ (hewed no Sigfis of
having been Impregnated ivith Lead; and one of Her c-
fordfoire gave a darkifh Precipitate, Dr. Baker’s Ex¬
ception here is with me the Rule. For I have tried,
and feen others try, Experiments on many different
Specimens of Devonfhire Cyder, efpecially that rough
fliarp Cyder, which is fo apt to give the Colic; And
all Exhibited a milky Appearance, without one Ex¬
ception of a dark Precipitate,
( 7° )
be always an undoubted Proof of the Prefence
of Lead.
The Anonymous Author of an Aufwer
to Dr. Bakefs printed at Exeter,
affures us; P. i8. that a few Drops of a
volatile Alkali^ iiiflilled into Cyder ^ which has
been Sulphured^ will produce exadily the fame
Phoenomenon^ or Colour^ as was chferved in
the Devonfhire Cyder. If this be facft, ^ I
fnppofe the Effluvia of Sulphur act upon
the Semi-metaline Part of the Orpiment,
and give it a darkifh Hue. For the
Fumes of Sulphur are fufficiently known
to tinge Metals with this Colour. And
the Cyder-makers of Devon, when they
"have got their Cyder fweet and fine,
very often fumigate the Calk at the laft
Racking, with a Match of Brimftone,
cfpecially if it be defigned for a fo¬
reign Market. This innocent Operation,
by deftroying the Elafticity of the Air
in the Cafk, prevents the Cyder from
running into a frefh or acetous Fermen¬
tation, and confequently preferves the
Sweetnefs. But not to reft on this ; it is
certain, that a little Sal Martis, or Iron
put into C3/der, foon gives a darkifti
tinge, and, on the Application of Or-
piment
'r ‘ - ■■■ - . - ij, ,i« ■ r ^
* The Experiment with the orpiment Solution did
pot fucceed with me,
\ . .
I
(
71
piment Decodllon, a very dark Colour.
And as we have commonly a good deal
more Iron than Lead, in our Pounding
Utenfils, a martial Solution might pro¬
bably in fome of the Trials be the' Cafe.
And in Confirmation of this. Dr. Baker
faith, Experiment ii ; The Orpiment Solution
occajimed a darkijh Colour in the Body of
the liquor^ approaching to Black, Where¬
as the fame Tefi:, as he juftly obferves^
produces only a brown, or Madeira- Wine
Colour, in a Solution of Lead. It is re¬
markable, that Dr. Baker, in the Re¬
publication of his Eflay, in the Medical
Tranfadlions, omits the Term Blacky and
changes it into very Opake ; As if confcious
that Black would lead other Readers, as it
led me, to a martial Solution. This Va¬
riation of Terms fhews a want of Precifion
in the Experiment. But by which of
thefe two Colours are we to abide ? Or
may either the one, or the other be af-
fumed, as fhall be found moft conve¬
nient ? This makes me recall the Words
of a learned Friend, in a Letter to me
on this Subject : I Jlrongly fufpeB, that
the Experiments in the Effay are not to be
depended upon. They feem to be made with
a view to a preconceived favourite Hypothejis^
and a fear^ left they Jhould not fucceed.
The Ingenious Author indeed may fay,
E4 he
(
)
he has praved, that there was no Solution
of Iron in the Devonfhire Cyder, on
which he made Experiments, and there¬
fore the darkijh Colour approaching to Blacky
could not be oweing to that Metal.
Now granting it to be fo, the natural
inference is this. It muft be allowed,
that there is more Iron than Lead, in
the" generality of our Pounds. It muft
alfo be allowed, that Iron diftblves more
readily, and in greater quantity, in all vege¬
table Acids, than Lead doth. If then
there be no Solution of Iron in our Cyder,
as it comes from the Pound; it follows a
fortiori, that there can be no Solution of
i^ead in ir. Utriim horim mavis accipe.
In P. 33, of the E[fay^ it was faid, In
many Parts of Hereford/hire ^ and the neigh¬
bouring Counties., tloe Stones of the Mills are
joined together ^ with Putty\ ichich is whiting
mixed with Oil,
Under' Remark iv, I had faid: I always
^ thought that Putty had been made of
White-Lead, Oil and Whiting;’ the laft
however in the greateft Proportion. My
Thoughts arofe partly from the Infor¬
mation of Artificers, who make, and Ufe
It. But now I am told, P. 30, that fonae-
thing elfe is Putty, and am lent to Cham-
lofrs's Didlhnary, and the Pharmacopceia
Vigornienfiss
«
. ( 73 )
Vigornlenfis, to learn, that Putty denotes a
cineritious Kind of compounded only
of Whiting and Linfeed OiL In my turn,
I would advife Dr. Saunders to confult
not a Compiler, but an original Author,
and an allowed good Chemift, Dr. Neu¬
mann, who fays P. 88 : Putty is the Com--
pound Calx of Tin and Lead, A Compound
of JVhiting and Oif is a Cement but not
Putty : This Name always fuggefting
fornething of Lead, if not Tin, as an
Ingrediento
P. 30, Mr, Alcock may be afjured^ the
farmers of Wore eft erffoire put no White-Lead
into their Putty,
Here again the fuperior Sagacity of
the Worcefterfhire Farmers appears, in
throwing out fuch a main Ingredient from
the Compolition of their Putty, in Order
to keep clear of Lead. Lead mufl: on
all Accounts be here avoided. Lead in
any Shape, either in the Trough, or
PrelTes, would be a Rock, that thefe Gem
tlemen’s whole Scheme would fplit upon.
It is an eftabiidaed Point with them, that
Lead is the foie Caufe of the Devonffoire
Colic — that this Lead is in the Utenftls of
Pounding — that thefe North-eajlern Cyder
Counties have no Symptoms of the Devoryhire
Colic ^ and confequently canmt have any Lead
( 74 )
ill their Pounding apparatus. And yet
notwithftanding all this Care and Caution^
we have found that confide rable Quan¬
tities of Lead have crept into their Troughs
and Preffes,' — that they have Vats covered
all over with fheet Lead —that they fome-
times rack off their Cyder into leaden
Cifterns to check Fermentation, and that
the Interftices at the Junftures of the
Stones in the Trough are in feveral Pla¬
ces filled up, not with Dr. Saunderses
dneritious Compojition of Oil and Whitings
but entirely wnth a Mafs of melted Lead.
I may juft obferve here, that fharp
lighted People, by being too attentive
to one Snbjeft, often overlook another,
equally important. The Worcefterfhire
Farmers, according to Dr. Saunderses
Receipt of their Putty, have run upon
Scylla, by endeavouring to avoid Cha-
rybdis. By throwing out Lead from
their Putty, they have fpoiled the Ce¬
ment, and in a great Meafure defeated
the Purpofe of effedtually Hopping up
the breaches and openings in the Troughs.
For it is Lead that principally gives the
Firmnefs and Durability.
Our Anfwerer feems Senfible, that his
dneritious Pa fie would not pafs for Putty ;
And therefore adds: Suppojing there had
^ ' been
'' s
( 75 ) '*
been White-Lead in the Compojltion of this
Putty y the Cyder would not have touched ity
while it had Chalk or Whiting in the Com-
pojition to A5l upon.
Here my Antagonift, I can perceive,
is for drawing me out of my depth into
the Chemical Profound ; Following the Sa«
gacity of certain amphibious Animals,
which, finding themfelves unable to cope
with their Adverfary on the dry Element,
endeavour to get him into the Deep, as
being able to fight there to greater Ad¬
vantage.
Suppojing there had been White-Lead in
the Compojition of this Putty\ the Cyder
would not have touched it^ while it had Chalk
or Whiting in the Compojition to A5l upon.
Dr. Saunders, like other great Matters
in Philofophy, Geometry, Phyfic, con¬
tents himfelf here with barely deliver¬
ing the Propofition or Aphorifm, with¬
out defcending to the Minutenefs of pro¬
ving, or explaining it. The Reader is
fuppofed to be fome Proficient in the
Science, and able to make out thefe
Things of himfelf. Or if not, he mutt:
rely on the Matter’s Ipfe Dixit, The
involved philofophical, or chemical Prin¬
ciple here referred to, is this; That
there's
( 7^ )
there’s a ftronger Attraftion between the
Acid of the Cyder and the Whiting, or
alkaline Earth, than between the acid
of the Cyder and the Cerufse or White-
Lead; and confequently that the Acid,
locked up in the Embraces of the alkaline
Earth will not meddle wath the Cerufse.
But I apprehend, this Theory does not
prove true in Pradlice. As the y\cid of
the Cyder is a folvent both of the Cerufse
and Whiting, and their Particles are in¬
timately combined, it wall neceffarily Act
upon Both in that intimately combined
State. This is proved in Amalgams^ or
mixtures of Metals with Quick-Silver ;
where the fame Acid, though it hath a
ftronger Attraction or Affinity wath one
Part of the Compound, than the other,
will yet A(5t upon, and diffolve Both at
the fame Time in that clofely united State.
s
P. 50, 2 "oil never faid that Cyder^ was
in the Condition of Saccharim Saturnu
One would think, Dr. Baker’s memory
was impaired, and that he did not know
what he faid, without this Gentleman’s
reminding him. What he takes hold
of here is only catching at Words. Dr.
Baker had faid in the Faftage here refer¬
red to: P. 37 , vegetable ybeid very readily
receives an Impregnation from ' head^ whe-
( 11 )
ther it be applied in its metallic^ or calcined
State, And it is evident, my meaning
was to flicw that Cyder is far from re-
ceiving an Impregnation from Lead fo
readily, when applied in its metallic, as
in its calcined State—and that the Mufl:,
or Cyder as it flows down from the Prefs
in the generality of our Pounds, if not
in all, receives fo little, if any impregnation,
that it could ili be compared to, and hard¬
ly faid to be in the Condition of Saccha-
rum Saturnia, a ftrong corroflve Poilbn. ^
As for the Gentleman’s being at alofs
to guefs hozv I could f peak with fo much cer¬
tainty of the Spuantity of head ufed in Pounds
which were made feventy or eighty Tears ago ;
I will endeavour to fatisfy him. My
Words are : ‘ Thefe Troughs^ fane of them
at leaji 1 am certain^ have been in Ufe thefe
^feventy or eighty Tearsf This is all the
certainty he can charge me with. Now
for this I have very good traditional or
hiftoric Proof, which is all the Proof,
that a Cafe of this nature at fuch a di-
ftance of Time may admit of. There
are living Witnefles, on, or near the Pre-
mifes, wliofe Teftimony can extend to a
confiderable Part of this Time, and they
have
* No body difpiites, that Lead diffolved by the
Acid of Wine, or Cyder, is in the Condition oi SaC"
charum Saturni,
( 78 )
have heard their Seniors report the fame
Thing ; namely, that the Lead in the
Pounding Troughs had not been replaced
in all their Time. But the Lead, according
to the Proportion of Solution in the Ef-
fay, could not ftand feven Years. A
Minute exadlnefs as to the State of Pounds
is not to be expedled. A flight Infpec-
tion at prefent will enable any one to
judge with fufficient Probability. The
fmall Quantity of Lead, that was melted
in with the Iron Cramps in my Pound,
feventy or eighty Years ago, the Weight
whereof I fuppofed to be about three or
four Pounds, but be it more, it does not
fignify, the furface that comes in contact
with the Cyder, being only to be con^
fidered, and this furface in the gene-^
fality of Pounds, does not appear to be
above four or five fquare Inches, although
the whole Area of the Trough, of mine
at leaft, be 6840 fquare Inches; I fay,
the fmall Quantity of Lead, that was at
firft run in with the Iron cramps in my
Pound, feventy or eighty Years ago, is
not vifibly corroded, or fretted into Holes
by the Cyder, but ftands out nearly on
a level with the Iron and Moor Stone,
and the very Marks and Imprellions made
by the Chiffel, or Punch, at firft letting
in the Lead, feem now juft as frefh,
where the Fridllon of the Roller did not
bear.
( 79 )
*
bear, as if but lately done. Now the
Common run of Pounding Troughs in
the County is nearly the fame as mine. '
I hope this Account will fatisfy the
Gentleman as to this Point.
1
P. 54 of the EJJay. Slue kiir phmb
differe du Notre.
If the Chinefe Lead, I faid. Remark vii
were of the fame Nature with the Euro-
pean, one might be apprehenfive from
^ the DoCloPs Principle, that the Vege*^
^ table Acid of Tea, which is imported
in leaden Caddies, Canifters, and large
^ leaden Chefts, might imbibe fome nox-
^ ious Qualities from the Metal. But I
^ do not know, that we have ever ex~
^ perienced any bad EffecSs of this Kind.^
fays Dr. Saunders, very cavalierly^
is an injignijicalfit Remark on a flotation front
a French Author.
I ftill think the Remark was not fo Injig--
nifcant. The intent of it was to fuggeft,
that Dr. Baker’s Principle might carry
him too far, and that if we have Reafon
to be fo much alarmed at the fmall Quan¬
tity of Lead ufed in fome of our Pounds,
we may have Reafon to be alarmed at
the
( 8o )
the ordinary Ufe of many other Things^
not hitherto thought hurtful, and par¬
ticularly at the daily Ufe of Tea, which,
as being packed and always imported in
leaden Chefts, might be fuppofed to cor¬
rode the Metal, and be fomewhat injured
by the Effluvia or Ruft.
This Anfwerer runs off the Point, by
faying ; Thofe whofe Bujinefs it is to handle
the Tea at the India Houje, are very apt
to become Paralytic, I am not talking of
thofe who handle, but of thofe who drink
the Tea, Thefe handlers, whether Por¬
ters or Revenue-Officers, may become
Paralytic, not from handling the Tea, but
merely from handling or moving the lea¬
den Chells, wherein the Tea is imported.
Tea drinkers, it is very true, are fubjed:
to Nervous Diforders; But not in confe-
quence of the Tea being impregnated by a
Solution of Lead. That the Lead, in wffiich
the Tea is imported, does not differ from
ours^ is very certain. For it is our own Lead,
carried out in Pigs or Bars, as Ballaft and
Freight, and worked up by the Chinefe,
in which the Tea is ahvays packed and
brought home to us. Lead is fo very
fcarce in China, that I am told, our Eaft-
India-Company generally fend out in every
Ship bound to that Country, a confiderable
Qiiantitv, fometimes three or four Hundred
Ton
( Sr )
f
Ton of Eiiyilli Lead; and no export H
more , readily difpofed of, ,or makes a
much better Return.
■t
I mean not by any Thing here faid, to
plead for the innocuous Nature of Lead.
V\'e cannot be too careful in the Ule of
that ivletal. Cyder fermented, or boiled,
or left toftand in leaden Vedels, would be
very hurtful. Vinegar, Pickles, acid Fruit
kept in glazed-earthen- ware, foon cor¬
rode the Lead in the glazing, and im¬
bibe a bad Quality.
Dr. Neiiumann fays P. 5*9, Ctdinary
P^eJjelSj lined with a mixture of Tin and Lcad'^
'ladoich is the iijual Tdinning^ are apt to com-^
Iniinicate to acid Foods^ pernicious qualities^
and require to he ujed with great Precaution.
No Body difputes with Dr. Baker the
pernicioufnefs of Lead. ‘ I have faid,
" Remark 8, we fliould take C are to
^ profit by his Advice fo far, as never to
admit any Lead (or as little as poTble)
^ to come in contaft with the Fruit, or
^ juice, in the Implements of Cyder ma-
^ king.’ And inftead of the Eflay He has
dlfperfed, I could wirti He had only pvh-
lifhed fome fuch Advertifement, as the
F following
- - - - ...... . ......i.. , — - - - — _ —
* This Subject: is ingeniouHy handled by Dr. Baker*
Bqq Medical Tic3j\i'2£ViQnSp P. 257, ^s.
( 82 )
following. ^ "The Gentlemen and Farmers
^ of the J ever a/ Cyder Counties^ are cautioned
^ not to Rack their Cyder through leaden Pipes ^
^ nor ferment^ or keep it in leaden Cijierns^
^ nor Boll it in leaden Furnaces , or Furnaces
^ capped with Lead^ nor to cover their Prejjh
^ with jlseet Lead^ nor admit any of that Me-
^ talj or as little as pojjlble^ to come in con-
^ tatk with the Fruity or fuice^ in the utenjils
^ of Cyder -making ; as the Acid in the Cyder
may difolve jome Portion of the Lead^ and ,
‘ the Liquor thereby contract an unwholefome
^ Fliialityd
s
A Public Notice of, this Kind would
have alarmed no one, would have injured
no one ; And at the fame Time might
have anfwered Dr. Baker^s kind Intentions
of ejefting what Lead there may happen
now to be in feme of our Cyder utenfils,
and preventing the Admiffion of more.
But now by the Doftrines publiftied in the
Effay^ a very great and needlefs Ex pence may
be incurred^ by breaking up old Pounds^ and
erecling new ones ; many of our own Peo¬
ple, who ufed to drink Cyder, are alarm¬
ed, ftrangers are frightened; et, ni Fama
mendax, Devonfhire Cyder, notwithftand-
ing the late great fcarcity, is become a
mere Drug at the London Market, and
almoft all Orders for that Liquor, are fent '
to Hereford, as I forefaw and predifted.
P- 315
( 83 )
P. 3 1 ? reajoning is abfolvteh
toncliLjrce ^ as will appear to any one. who
"will conjider the different Effedis of all the
nervous Eoijons on different Lonjiitut.ons ,
Why had not this Anfwerer entered a
little into the Subje6l, confidered the dif¬
ferent Effedls of nervous Poifons on dif¬
ferent Conftitutions," and fliewn us, that
SaccharumSaairni, the Caufe, as is alledged
of the endemial Colic, (for Lead difToKed
in Cyder, is in the Condition of Saccha-
rum Saturni, P. 3-7 Ej[Jay\ P. 30 jfnfwer}
fhewn us, I fay, that Saccharum Saturni,
the fuppofed Caufe of our endemial Colic,
and the Subjeft of our prefent Debate, is
' a nervous Poifon? If He expedled to pro¬
duce Convidlion in his Readers, He ought
to have overthrown my Reafoning by Rea-
foning, and not fo dogmatically have pro¬
nounced all this reajoning ahfolutely incon--
elujive. Any Thing may be anfwered
this Way,
As then he has only fliirred over the
Matter here, I muft take the Trouble to
open it fomewhat myfelf, and to that pur-
pofe I muft Place again before the Reader
my Reafoning, nearly, as it appeared in
Remark vii.
Dr. Baker had obferved, Rffay^ V. 56^
’ Fa that
' (
(
84
)
that feme People, who hame long acenfiomed
tbemi elves to Csder, have never experienced any
oj its had Effects This Ejpculm, irhatever
general Canje be juppped, can only he Jo/ved
by recurring to that inexplicable idiofsno-afa,
in which there is fo remarkable a dijference
among Men, On which I had remarked,.
^ if it was true, tl.i5.t a Portion of Lead
^ were diflclved in all, or moft of our
"" Devonlliire Cyder, and this produced
^ the endemial Colic 5 It fhoiild follow,
that fuch a conftant general Caufe flio'uld
produce a conflant general Etfecl; And
^ that, as g;reat quantities of Cyder are
^ every Year drank, tlie Diileinper ilnould
uniformly every Year appear. Put this
is contrary to Experience. The Dif-
•f i.
^ temper is obfeived to rage mofi: in gYeat
^ Bearings, and cold nroiit Seafons.
.From tlie fime difibliition of Lead In
* our Cyder, it flrould alio follow, that
the more a Man drinks of this Liquor,
^ the more he liiould fliffcr by the Difeafe;
^ And that no idiojsncrada, no ilreneth
or peculiarity of Conftitution, could be
^ fnperior
Dr. Baker fenfible 1 liippoie, from what I bad'
Fvcmarked, that this Solution of the diificiilty was ra->
ther too pofitively advanced, foftens the Kxprefiion
m a fubfequent Publication, by faying, this dijjiculiy
juhakver general Canfe he juppofedj I do not take
upon me to account for. Prfihly it is rcfolvcahlc cn/y^
hy recurring to that inexplicable idiofyncrajia,
{liperior to the bad Effcdls of die Poi-
fon. And yet great Numbers every Yegr
drink immoderately of Cyder, without
perceiving any Symptoms ofthe Diftem-
per; while many Ladies, Children, and
Vaietiidinarians, who ' drink little or no
Cyder at ail, are frequentiy attacked
with it. I’his flaews, the Liquor is not
the Caufe, at leail:, not the only Cau(e
of the Difeafe. There is great Reafon
to think, that feverai Caufys may concur.
Lead, no doubt, where u(ed, moft be
very hurtful ; we want no new Experi¬
ment to Teach us this. Drinking immo¬
derately of Cyder, foul, and not weli
fermented, is pernicious. Eating very
much Fruit, whether ripe or un- ripe,
may contribute to the diieafe. Amd far¬
ther, the Nature of the Seafon may have
a conliderable Efteft. The Autumnal
Seafon in every Part of England is moje
or lefs produdlive of Rheumatifms, Di-
arrheeas, Colics, Pglfies. Perhaps the
Weft Country Atmofpliere may fonve-
what more peculiarly difpofe the Inha¬
bitants to this Diftcmper. Devonftiire
efpecially tlie South-Weft Part of it, is
known to be fubjecl to much Rain.
F3
The
if'-
pg'<peri merits have fhewn, that commonly almoft
twice as much Wa.ter annually falls on the Wefiern,
as on the Ealtern Coahs of England. See Neuii'^
yaann, P. 210.
f S6 )
^ The immcnfe Quantity of Vapour exha-
^ led by the Sun from the vaft Atlantic
* Ocean, and drVen on Land here by the
South-Weft Winds, is checked in its far-
ther progrefs, by the Interruption of our
' Weftern Alps, the high Range of Dart-
‘ moor, and other Hills, running nearly
® Eaft and Weft into Cornwall ; And be-
^ ing at thefe Hills repelled and conden-
^ fed, falls down in Rain. This caufes a
^ more than ordinary moift Atmofphere.
^ And fuch a moft State of Air ftops up
the Pores of the Body, checks Perfpira-
tion, and throws the Matter, that ought
to pafs through the ftrainers of the Skin,
inwardly on the Bowels; And, in con-
^ jiindlion with other Caufes, may produce
^ an endemial Colic. Several Caufes
^ then very probably confpire to produce
^ this Damnonian Difeafe ; And no one
^ Caufe of itfelf may be adequate to the
^ Effedl. But it is the Common fault of
W riters to fuit every Thing to a precon-
* ceived Hypothefis, and rejeddng, or
difregarding
o o
* It teems, 1 am not fmgular in afcribing the De-
vonfliire Colic to feveral Caufes. For Dr. Baker in
Medical Tranfadions, P. 364. ^c. tells us, that in the
Tear 1757, ^ Fhyjician of diflinguifljed Reputation
puhlifijed a Latin Treatifc on the Caufes of the Colic
of Poitou; which Dr. Baker undertakes to refute.
J\nd this diftinguillied Phyfician attributes it to eight
feveral Cauies. Some of the principal are the fame
that I have here, and above, adduced, fee P, 12. tS^Cc
( 8? )
^ difreo;ard!n2: all other Canfes. t3 reft the
o o ^
Matter abfurdly upon one.
All this Reafoningj fays Dr. Saunders, is
ahjolutcly incoiiciujive ,
On the ftridleft review, I cannot per^
celve, that all^ and confequentiy that eve¬
ry Part of this Reafoning, is abfoliitely in-
conclufive. Is obftrudted Perfpiration ne¬
ver the Caufe of the Colic of Devon?
Does new foul Cvder, drank immoder-
ately in a State of Fermentation, never
give this Difeafe ? Is poor fharp, pricked
Cvder the Common drink of the lower
•/
Sort of People, among whom the Difeafe
chiefly reigns, never either a foie, nor an
auxiliary Caufe ? Does a mifplaced Gout
or Rheumatifm never fall on the Bowels,
and produce all the Symptoms and Tor¬
ments of the endemial Colic ? Does the
Seafon of the Year, or moiftnefs of the
Atmofphere contribute nothing? No. All
this reafoning is abfoliitely inconchfiooe as will
appear to any one^ who will conjider the dif¬
ferent Effedls of all the nervous Pofons on
diff'erent Conjlitutions .
But what have nervous Poifons to do
with the latter Part of my reafoning? Ner¬
vous Poifons can only refer to the two
Flypothetic Syilogifms mentioned in the
F 4 beginning
( 88 ■ )
beg'nning of tlie Remark. And therefore
tlio’ the hrft Part of my Reafbning fliouid
appear to be Inconcluiive, the latter Part
cannot appear to be fo, iiom the Dodtrine
of nervous fhoifons. Here then the DoClor
t
is gniky of an Inconjequence with refpedl to
one Part of my Realoning. And I will
now endeavour to Drew him to be erro-
ni'ons with refpedl to die other Part ; And
that the Confideration of nervous Poifons
Will make againft him, not for him.
Poifons are divided into two CiafTes,
Acrimonious and Nervous. Nervous are
fucb, as are endued with a Narcotic in¬
toxicating Powder 'inducing ftupor and
infenfibility : And feem to A6i immedi¬
ately upon contadl with tlie Nerves ; dif-
turbing, or flopping their Fiindtions^
without fenfibly wounding the other Parts
of the Body, to which they are applied.
And thefe are chiefly fetched from the
Vegetable Kingdom ; as Opiuqi, Laurel-
W..ter, Hemlpck, Henbane, Aconite, or
MonkVHood, Night-Shade, Tobacco, Dif-
tilled Oil of Kernels, kffc. Acrimonious
Poi'ons are fuch, as operate by a fenfible
mechanical Power, burning, cutting the
Parts, to which they are applied : And
when taken in by the Mouth, lacerate
and wound the deliqate fenfible Mem¬
branes of the Stomacli and Bowels. And
thefe
■( '89 )
thpfe are commonly produced from flie
Foffil Kingdom, and chiefly confift of the
fcveral Metals andSemi-metals; As Aurum
Fulminans, Lunar-Cai flic, Corrofive Siib-
iimate, Crocus IVletallorum, Vitrum An-*
timonii, Biue Vitriol, Cobalt, Arlenic, Sac-
charum Satiirni, CfTf,
Thefe poderpus Bodies, being combi¬
ned with a faline Principle, become thus
y\crimoniousand deftrudlive. Among thefe
the Saccharum Saturni is truly an acrimo¬
nious Poifon, a^ being compofed, like the
reft, of a metalline and faline Principle,
and having no narcotic intoxicating Pow¬
er. Our Adverfarv therefore has abfo-
lutely miftaken the very Clafs, in which
this Polibnous Compound ought to be tank¬
ed, and refers us to nervous Poifons, when
the fubjedl is really acrimonious. Accord¬
ing to Dodlor Baker, EfTay, P. 38, anct'"
Dr. Saunders, Anfwer, P. 30, Lead dtf-
folved in Cyder is in the Condition oj Saccha¬
rum Saturni: And this gives the Devon-
-flaire Colic. The Devonfhire Colic the^i
muft be oweing to an acrimonious, not a
nervous Poifon, if it be oweing to Saccha¬
rum Saturni, or Lead combirted with the^
Acid of Cyder.
If it fliould be faid ; Lead alfo Adfs as
a nervous Poifon pn the Human Bod\r
by
(go )
by external contaft. I Anfwer ; So do
the acrimonious Poifons, Mercury, Cobalt,
Arlenic, &c. Thefe, by being handled
and worked in, and by their noxious Ef¬
fluvia, produce nearly the fame Etfefts,
Tremors, Vertigos, Palfy, Epiiepfy,
Not that I take upon me to fay, whether
Lead, externally applied, be a nervous
or acrimonious Poifon. The Saccharum
Saturni, prepared from it, with which on¬
ly v/e are at prefent concerned, is moft
undoubtedly Acrimonious. If my Anta-
gonift Ihould fay ; The Cafe v>^ill ftill be
the fame ; And that acrimonious Poifons,
allowing Saccharum Saturni to be fuch,
have the la?ne different Effedls on different
Corffiitutions : I muft take Liberty to deny
it. For the acrimonious Poifons are found
to vary much lefs in their Effedfs on dif¬
ferent Perfons, than the Nervous intoxi¬
cating ones. Almoft all are nearly af-
fedled in the fame Manner by the former.
But a very great variety and difference is
obfervable in the Effedls of the latter,
not only on different Perfons, but on the
fame Perfons at different Times : And al¬
though ufe, as is well known in the Cafe
of Opium, Tobacco, will familiarize the
intoxicating Poifons to our Conftitutions,
and enable us by degrees to bear with
fafety a Qiiantity, that would otherwife
have been deftrudlive ; No Cuftom or
Habit
( 91 )
Habit feem to be able to leflen the fatal
Eiiedis of the Acrimonious; (for fharp
pointed Inftruments will always cut) and
confeqnently, as I faid Remark vii, ‘ from
^ this luppofed DilTolntion of Lead in o\ir
^ Cyder, it fliould follow, that the more
a man drinks of this Liquor, the more
^ he fhould fuffer by the Difeafe, and that
^ no idiofyncrajia^ no ftrength, or pecu-
^ liarity of Conffitution could be fuperi-
^ or to the bad Effedls of this acrimoni-
^ ous Poifon.’ I think, all this reckoning is
abjolutely conclujive.
Dr. Saunders, not fatisfied with his own
Solution of the difficulty, adds: Let me
qfk Mr. Alcock^ upon what other Principle he
conceives it to depend., that ac, or ding to the
Argument of his . Friend Mr, Geacl\ not One
in a Thoufand of thofe^ who drink Cyder ^ has
the endemial Colic,
It was remarked by Dr. Huxham, and
k is mofl: certainly true, that not One of
a Thoufand of thofe, who make Cyder
their Common Drink, has the endemial
Colic. Dr. Baker fays, P. 56, that fome Peo¬
ple, who have long accujlomed themf elves to Cy¬
der, have never experienced any of its bad Ef-
jedls. This difficulty can onh be jolved, by recur¬
ring to that inexplicable idiofyncrajia, in which
there is fo remarkable a difference among Men.
If tlie difficulty can only be thus foived
I am afraid, it will not be folued at a!i.
This idiojyncrajia has often been brought
p Account for Exceptions to a Rule - to
fhew, why One here and there amidfi
the general danger has efcaoed a general
O O i o
Malady, or epideixiic fnieftion. We ia}y
■j ” ' 1' r /■'
?^ic 1 rx” /I f']
it IS oweing to this
mcrana, to fome
jftrength or peculiarity of Conftitution,
that here and there a Perfon, fuppofe One
of aThoufand, efcapes the Small-Pox, and
is not fulceptible of that Diftemper, either
in the natural, or artificial Way. When
the Plague raged in Marfeilles, and made
fach dreadful Havock of the Inhabitants,
when hardly a Angle Perfon efcaped Sickness
and but few Death, and the good Biihop,
jnftly celebrated by Mr. Pope, did every
thing in his Power for their relief, attend¬
ed both Sick and Dead, and was every
where all the Time, and yet paffed free
from the Contagion : Tho’ a Divine might
fay, Providence preferved hinr ; a Pliyfi-
cian would properly fay, it muft be an idio-
fyncrajta^ fomething peculiar \n Ifis Conffi-
tutlon, that made him Proof againft fuch
a general and virulent Infection. But
when only One of a Thoufand is taken
down, as in the prefentCafe of our leaden
Cyder Drinkers, and Nine hundred and
ninety nine feel no harm, it would be ye-
ly abiurd to bring, in here, this idk^yn-
crdjia^
X §3 )
Irajia^ as the Caufe. It would be mvert-
ing its nature, making peculiar general^ and
applying it to account for an Exception ;
\vl::iclg as being near a thoufand Times
more numerous, ought to become the Rule.
Dr. Saunders’s Argument dreffed up in¬
proper Terms ftands thus. All Devon-
fliire Cyder lorinkers ought to have the ''
^ Devonihire Colic, in confequence of a
^ Solution of Lead taken in with their Gy-
^ der. But nine hundred and ninety nine
out of a thoufand of thefe Devonfhire
Cyder Drinkers, have not the Devon-
^ fliire Colic; And therefore nine hundred
^ and ninety nine out of a thoufand mull
‘ have this idiofyncrajia^ fomething pecu-
^ liar in their Conftitution, that refills this
‘ Poifon of Lead.’ Is not the Peculiar
Cafe here in reality made the general ; a
Contradidlion in Terms and Senfe ? If
only one of a Thoufand of thofe, who’^
life Devonfhire Cyder for their common
Drink, have the Devonlliire Colic; the
natural Conclufion is, that this Liquor for
the moll Part is lound and healthy, and
that it mull be oweing to fome acciden¬
tal Ci rcumllances, that do not ordinarily
occur, either as to the Quality of the Cy¬
der, or the Hate of the Perfon who drinks
it, that it happens here and there to dis¬
agree.
After
( 94 )
After all; This idiofyncrajia is an in-^
explicable Term — -is only another Word
for our Ignorance. And as nothing, but
what is ejiablijhed by Experiment will pafs
with Dr. Saunders; ^ He very incon-*
fiftently has recourfe to fuch an occult E^ality
for the Suftentation of his Caufe. Not to
Mention, what was advanced above, that
no idwfyncra/ia can be Proof againft the
Power of an acrimonious Poifon.
Now I am upon this Point, I fhall flop
a Moment juft to remark, that, as not more
than one of a thoufand have the endemiai
Colic ; this fhews, that the Diftemper is
far from being fo general and dreadful,
as fome Strangers may apprehend. Our
Cyder and our Colic will now give People
at a diftance a terrible Idea of our County,
and make them not only afraid of drinking
our Liquor, but of inhabiting within our
Borders. And yet the Devonfhire People
feem to be as healthy and long lived, as
thofe of any other Parts of the Wand ; and
there are fome Diforders, particularly the
Ague, endemiai to fome Counties, from
wdiich Devonfhire is remarkably free.
Cyder is generally allowed to be both di¬
uretic, and antifcorbntic. M. Jacquin. the
French Author de la Sante fays, ^ Cyder
is
* Anfwer P.
( 95 )
is a wholefome^ peSloral^ refrejlolng^ murijhlng
Uxiuor—that it comforts the hearty and is good
for the Scorbutic and Melancholic — that new
fweet Cyder caujes a Diarrhoea and Dyfentery^
Jweet lour Cyder is apt to caufe ObJiruCliom
i. e. the Colic, Some eminent Phylicians
think good Cyder a very wholefome
Liquor for Sailors upon a Voyage, and
that, as containing lb much vegetable acid,
it might counterabl, or prevent the putre-
fcent EfFedls of the Sea Scurvy. This feme
endemial Colic, with which it is charged,
and about which fo much Noife is made,
appears but here and there — kills very
few Patients — -continues but for a fhort
Time — generally only during the Period
of making and racking new Cyder, a Proof
that the new Cyder is, in Part at leaft, a
Caufe; and Foreigners, that relide amongft
us, fcarce perceive any fuch Diftemper,
as peculiar to our County. The autum¬
nal Seafon in every Part of England is
more or lefs produ6live of Rheumatifms,
Gout, Diarrhoeas, Colics, Dyfeateries, Bi¬
lious Affeftions: And it would be very
wrong to afcribe all fuch Diforders in De-
vonfhire to the endemial Colic. The Pa¬
thognomonic Symptoms of this Difeafe are
not fo precifely known, and afcertained,
as to enable Medical Gentlemen always
to
* Dr. Huxham
I
( 9*^ )
to diftingiiifl:! it from every other Colici
Conftipatiori of the Belly, P^lfy? and
Epilepiy are not, as is ailedged, its certain
or peculiar Criterions. The Uevonfhire
Colic is Ibmetimes attended with obftinate
Coftivenefs ; fometimes with a Mux, or
Diarrhoea, 'f* The Devonftiire Colic does
not always terminate in Palfy, or Epilepfy.
The Author of the Elliiy fays P. 5. ^ It
^ feeras very particular, that Dr. Mufgrave
^ fhould fay lo much of this Colic, which.
is reprefented to be the Elfedl of Cyder i
^ and not mention thdfe effential Patho-
^ gnomonic Symptoms, by which it is at
this Time diftingui filed. Are we to iup-
^ pofe, that, when Dr. Mulgrave lived,
‘ this fpecies of Colic had not been ob-
^ ferved to terminate in Palfy, or Epiiep-
^ fy } Or is it more probable, that his at¬
tention
* Anfwer P. 7
'f’ This, Dr. Baker allows, Medical Tranlddlions,
P. 238, and quotes Citoi.^, and M. Doa:zlm for Au¬
thorities. The latter, who writes on the Colic of
Poitou, lays ; II en eft Plufieurs, qui non leulement
n’ont point eprouve de Conftipation, mats meme
qui le lont plaints d’un Flux de ventre. There are
many, who have not only not fuffered a Conftipation?
but who have even complained of a Flux of the Belly.
-I' He makes it to be the Effecf, not merely of
C3'der, but Pomacco immitti ct acido, 7i:’mis ufurpato^
aj rough add Cyder ^ immcdcrately u/cd.
( 97 )
f
^ tention was fo engrofled by the general
^ 8ub]e6l of his Differtation, that he forgot
^ to Mention fuch remarkable Phoenomena?
^ No ; This is not at all probable. But
the Truth feems to be, that Dr. Muf-
grave, an ingenious Phyfieian of Exeter^
who Jived in Queen Anne’s Time, had
not obferved this Species of Colic always
to terminate then, any more than it doth
now, in Palfy or Epiiepfy; And there¬
fore he did not Mention thefe, as its con-
flant and certain Critcrions. It is a known
Truth with Phyfical Perforis here, that
a great Number of f^atients, by far the
greater Number, attacked with this Dif-
eafe, have been perfeftly cured by Me¬
dicine, or have recovered by the help of
Nature, without fuffering any fuch bad
EffecJls. I have feen fbme, and heard of
many fuch Patients this very Autumn, who
have thus perfedtly recovered. Pally, or
Epiiepfy is generally the confequence
only, when the Diforder is very fevere,
and obffinate,— makes frequent Returns,
and does not yield to the Power of
Nature, or of Phylic ; And when at kft
there is not an Expullion, but only a
Tranflation of the Morbific Matter from
the Bowels to the Limbs or other Parts.
If, according to the Suppulation made a*
bove, about One Perfon in a thoufand of
Thofe, who commonly drink Cyder, has
G the
( 98 )
the Devonfliire Colic, and this Colic,
cording to Dr. Baker, were always to ter¬
minate in manual Palfy or Epilepfy ; what
a Number of fuch unhappy Invalids would
every Year be here accumulated? And
what a wretched Figure would our Coun¬
ty make, with fo many feeble fhattered
Creatures tottering about in every Pariflt
and Place ? But is any Thing like this,
the real Cafe in Faft? Are not the Com¬
mon People in general here, who are
the principal Cyder drinkers, as healthy
and robuft, as thofe of any other County?
Are not our Youth vigorous and aftive, fit
for the Militia, and for any of the moft
laborious Offices in Life ? And does any
County in the Kingdom, Middlefex ex¬
cepted, equal Devon for the Number of
its hardy Fellows, conftantly fent forth, as
Recruits to our Fleets and Marines?
Befides, the Patients of this Kind, which
we do meet with in the County, do not
all fufier thus from the endemial Colic.
Other Coiics are attended with the fame
unhappy confequences. A Bilious Colic,
when very bad, often terminates in Palfy,
or lamenefs of Hands, and Limbs. So
alfo does the dry Belly Ach of the Weft-
Indies. The Arthritic Colic is likewife
known to bring on a Paralyfis. Dr. War¬
ner fays, Account of the Goiit^ P, 86, Both
( 99 )
thejixed and wandering Gout^ the regular and
irregular y the genuine and fimptomatic Jome^
times appear in the Shape of the Colic, M,
Liger, Profefibr of Phyfic in the Uni-
i^erfity of Paris, ill his Treatife on the Gout
obferves, that no Liquor brings on the Gout
more readily^ than jome Sort of Cyder^ and
that the People of Normandy^ who make this
their Common Drink ^ are very much Ciibjedl
both to Gout and Colic, * And Dr. Warner
alfo fays, P. 133: It mujl- he owned ^ that
in the Cyder Countries^ the Gout is frequent
enough to countenance an Opinion^ that it is in
fome Meafure oweing to that Liquor, "The
Gouty Matter^ not rightly forming in the Ex¬
tremities^ falls on the Stomach and Bowels^
and then Jhews itfelf^ like a Bilious Colic ; Or,
falling on the Origin of the Nerves^ caufes a
Palfy on the reJpeSlive Parts, to which they
belong, M: Lechandelier, the celebrated
Chemift at Rouen, whom Dr. Baker through
miftake Mentions by the Name of Chande¬
lier, in his Obliging Anfwer to fome Quef-
tions I propofed to him on this Subjedl a-
mong other Things, faith; ^ Perfonne
' n*ignore que la Cidre Coupe eft partlcu*^
‘ lierment fujet a donner des Coliques. E-
very one knows, that cut or pricked Cy-
^ der is fubjedl to give the Colic. The
^ fame Gentleman alfo obferves : II eft no-
Ga ‘ toire.
back, P, 58.
( ICO )
^ toire, que la Goutte eftfrequente enNor-
® mandie, ainfi que la Sciatique et la Rheu-
‘ matifme, qui en general font plus rares
^ dans les paiis du Vin. Les Gouttes irre-
‘ gulieres fe cachent quelque fois fous le
‘ mafque de la Colique. It is notorious,
• that the Gout is very Common in Nor-
‘ mandy, as well as the Sciatica, and
‘ Rheumatifm; which in general are lefs
^ frequent in the Wine Provinces. Irre-
‘ gular Gouts fometimes conceal themfelves
‘ under the Appearance of the Colic/
An eminent Phyfician, a Friend of mine,
told me. He was lately called in to a Patient
troubled, about once a Month, with a pe¬
riodical Colic and Jaundice. He judged
the Cafe to be gouty; And Medicines,
ordered fuitable to that Intention, foon
made a perfeCl Cure. So that among the
Caufes of the Devonfhire Colic, there is
no Doubt but an irregular Gout is fome¬
times one ; And Medicines proper for
bringing down the Gout into the Limbs,
being Adminiftered in fuch a Cafe, often
produce a Cure, and plainly indicate the
Difeafe.
The Pathognomonic Symptoms then of
our endemial Colic are not fo precifely
known, and afeertained, as to enable us
always to diftinguilh it from every other
Species
( lOI )
Species of Colic. On vifidng a Patients
labouring* pnder a Colic, a Conftipation
pf the Belly, a Diarrhqea, Dyfentery, Cho-
Ipra Morbus, jParaiytic Weaknefs, the
Doctors are often at a lofs unto what to
afcribe the Cafe, and frequently charge
Devonfliire Cyder, as the Criminal, when
it had really no concern in the Evil. I
myfelf a few Years ago, in the Month of
November, was troubled with violent tor¬
ment in my Stomach and Bowels, pbftinate
Conftipation of the Belly for fourteen Days
together, conftant Noufea, and Vomit¬
ing, with* other the ufual Symptoms
attendant on the Devonfhire Colic. And
an Ordinary Judge would have concluded
That to have been my Diforder. But I am
little or no Cyder Drinker : Nor could
Cyder poftibly have been the Caufe. The
Cafe was Bilious, and treated, and cured
as fuch. Mr. Roberts of Plymouth, Sad¬
ler, had been long afflifted with the dry
Cblic. At laft He entirely loft the Ufe pf
his Hands, and his Wrifts hung dangling,
as if they were broken. He went to Bath
for his diforder, and was kindly admitted
into the Hofpital there. The Medical
Gentlemen of the Hofpital, on fight of
the Patient, and hearing He came from
Devon, immediately concluded, that He
had been, a great Cyder Drinker, and pro-
pounced his Cafe to be the Devonfhire
G 3 Cplfc
f 102 )
Colic. But he foon uadeceived the Gen-
■I ■ ‘ - L .
tlemen, by affuring theirij that he was no
Cyder Drinker, and that he very rarely
tafted any of that Liquor. He received
little or no Benefit for near a Quarter of a
Year’s Tirne, and was difpofed to go away,
as defpairing of Relief, But fome of the
Faculty very humanely and judicioufly ad-
vifed him to try longer. He complied
with the Advice. And in about a Fort-
niglit or three Weeks more, received gra¬
dual Strength in his Hands, and at laft
was reftored to a furprifing Ufe of tliem,
confidering his former debility. Mifs Silly,
now of Exeter, has, at intervals, been long
tormented with a Bilious, or what has been
called the Devonfliire Colic ; although fhe
feldom Drank any Cyder. At laft fhe
became Paralytic, and loft the Ufe of her
Hands. She went to Bath, and found fome
Relief there, but not a Cure. Air. Scott,
Drnggift of Plymouth, died lately at Bath.
He had been much troubled with the Co¬
lic ; And was become quite a manual Pa=
ralytic, but not in confequence of Cyder |
For he hardly ever Drank any. Thefe
may ferve as fome, out of many Inftances
|hat might be produced, to fhew, that the
Devonfhire Colic is charged with more
Patients at the Hofpitals, than in Juftice
it ought to be, and that it is not eafy al¬
ways to diftingulfh it from Colics of ano-
fher OrIginaL ^ 3-? Tf-l
( J03 )
P. 32, The vague Reafoning concerning
the moijiure of the Devonjhire Atmofphere
feems to deferve no Conjideration. *
G4 If
* Dr. Baker in the Addition he has made to his
EJfayy as publifhed in the Medical Tranfa^ions P. 1 93,
Glancing at this fame Argument of mine, allcs ; Is
it Rational to have recourfe to the Moijiure exhaled from
the vaji Atlantic Ocean, to Jhew, why the Air of De^
wnjlnre is umuholefome and the Apples four?
And yet this fame Author tells us, P. 296 ; That
M: Thierry, Regent of the Faculty of Phy fie at Paris,
in his Notes and Ohfervations, concerning the Colic
of Madrid, and its Neighbourhood, which He makes
to be the fame, as the Colic of Poitou, or Devon, at«
tributes it to the unequal Temperature ot the Air»
and the elevated Situation of Caftile, and is of Opi«
nion, that this Diforder is always more frequent near
the Coafts bordering on the Ocean, than near Rivers
or the Mediterranean.
The Leaden Sledge indeed, as ufual, is brought
to knock down this Regent’s Argument, as well as
mine. Still however I do think it very Rational to
have recourfe to the Moiffure exhaled from the vaft
Atlantic Ocean, to prove, that our Apples are four.
This undoubtedly is the main Caufe, why the Weft
Country is more rainy, than the Eaftevn Parts of the
Ifland. And furely much wet is a great check to
the Mellowing of Fruit, and of courfe an Enemy to
the mildnefs and fweetnefs of Cyder*
But I had not recourfe to the Moifture of the At¬
lantic Ocean only to fhew our Apples are four. I
faid, and know it to be true, that our Apple Trees
in Devonfhire are planted much nearer tvgether^
than they are in the North Eaftern Cyder Counties.
In
104
If the reafoning be vague^ the illation
Is very juft: It deferves no Confideration*
But the Anfwerer ought to have ftnewn it
to be vague ^ before he threw out fuch a
vague Cenfure, and pronounced it unwor¬
thy of Confideration. For my own Part^
I arn ftill of Opinion, that the Nature of
the Atmofpliere may have fome Power to
increafe, if not produce our endemlal Co¬
lic ; And particularly, that there was fome-
thing in the State of the Air, that co-ope¬
rated to render the Difeafe fo Epidemic
in the Year 1724. The curious Dr. Kern-
fer relates, that the Hydrocele or Scroti
Tumor is endemial to the Country of Ma¬
labar ; And that thofe Perfons, who have
not
In confeqiience whereof there is not fo free an Ad-
miffion of Sun and Air, nor is thq Fruit fo kindly ri¬
pened. I may add, that the three fpecified Cyder
Counties of Glouceder, VVorcefter, and Hereford,
are in genera] of a gravelly Soil, and thereby hotter
than Devon; which partakes more of a C-ayey Na¬
ture. For a gravelly Mould more copiouflj abforbs,
and retains the Suifs Rays; not to Mention the dif¬
ferent Juices of thefe different Soils. Devonfhire too,
as was laid of Cadile, may be confdered as an ele¬
vated mountainous Country, in Comparifon with
thefe other Cyder Provinces. And all Flills, or
iiiountainous Situations are found, caeteris paribus, to
l^e cooler, than thofe of plainer furfaces. So that
the circumftances of the Devonfhire Climate muff
neceffafily- be produdfive of a more rough auftepe
acid Cyder, than that of thefe other Counties^ ami
ponfequently be more produdfive of the Colic,
Common Effedf of fuch Cyder^ ,
( 105 )
^lot the Tumor or Dropfy of the Scrotum^
have moft commonly an CEdematous, or
large fwolen Leg. On a change of Air, or
Climate, the Diforder ceafes. The Caufe
is partly imputed to the Water, and partly
to the Atmofphere; which, from the etfeft
of violent continued Rains, is always very
Damp; the Winds being intercepted from
blowing upon the Land, and drying it, by
a long Ridge of high Mountains, which
feparate the Country from Coromandeh
This may ferve as fomc Ficof, that the
Moiftnefs of the Atmofpne e may, at leaft
in Coniunftion witi ■ other Caufes, produce
an endemial Dilcauo”— U is certain, that
in confequence of our Situation, we have
more Rain in the Wefiern, than they have
in the Eaftern Parts of the Mand. It is
alfo very certain, that Aloifture under the
Feet^ and dampnefs over the head, are
apt to check Perfjpiratipn, and produce
Colds and Colics. Many Perfons, efpe-
cially thofe of a tender Infide, and who
have a previous Difpofition to griping
Pains, by being wet in their Feet, or by
walking or riding in the cold damp Air,
frequently thereupon feel Diforder in their
Bowels, and are thrown into the Colic.
This ,obftru(5led Perfpiration then occa-
lioned by much wet, may be a primary;
or if not a primary, may be an auxiliary
bccafional Caufe of the Devonfhire Colic™
may
( io6 )
aay ftir up the feed of it, where latentj
ind render it more frequent, and more
grievous. A difcerning Medical Gentle^
nan, who pracSlifed in Plymouth in the
Spidemic Year, 1724, thinks the Air and
deafon had a very great Effedl then — that
the Difeafe feemed to be catching— that
when One in a Houfe was taken ill, it often
run through all, or a great Part of the Fa¬
mily, and that many were leized, who^,
he was very certain, had never been ufed
to Drink Cyder, As the Difeafe, which
^wasfo Epidemic in the Year 1724, has
not from that Time made any fuch formi-
dable Appearance, notwithftanding we
have fince had feveral very plentiful Years
of Cyder, * * it feems to me plain, that
other Caufes muft have concurred with
the great plenty of Fruit and Cyder, to
make the Difeafe at thaf Time fo general
and fatal. If there were only one Caufe
of the Difeafe, whatever that Caufe be fup-
pofed to be, whether an ab^undance of Cy¬
der,
. ' t
* M: Lechandelier faith ; II n’a point obferve, fi
les diverfes Conftitutions de Tair dans les Automnes
contribuent au plus ou moins de Coliques : Mais il
Jui paroit que ce n*efl point a F abondance des Cidres
qu’il faut f 'en prendre. He hatl][ not obferved, whe¬
ther the different Conflitutions of the Air in different
Autnnans contribute more or lefs to the Produdliori
of thefe Colics. But it feems to him, that it is not
merely to the Abundance of Cyder, that we ought
to afcribe the Caufe.
( 1^7 )
iier, immoderate Quantity drank, a cold
Moift Seafon, great alperity of tire Liquor,
Lead in the utenlils of Pounding * &c ; If
there were only one Caufe, I think the
Diftemper rnnft have been nearly in the
fame Manner epidenac in every like
plentiful fucceeding Year of Cyder. For
the fame Caiife arifing, the fame Etfedl
Ihould enfue. Bui when a Union or coin¬
cidence of feveral Caufes is neceflary for
the Produdlion of an Etfeft, that Effeft
doth not often wholly take Place.
With refpeft to this Argument drawn from
^he Nature of the Atmofphere, the Reader
will be pleafed to Remember, that no very
great ftrefs was laid upon it. I only faid,
f Perhaps the Weft Country Atmofphere
‘ may foinewhat more peculiarly difpofe
^ the Inhabitants to this Diftemper.’ ‘f- The
main of the Queftion however is very little
affedted, if we give up this Point. Nor
did
* Dr. Baker is of Opinion, that a Solution of
Lead in our Cyder is the Ible Caufe of the Devon-
/hire Colic. It feems to me, fays he, Poftfcript to the
Effay, ]\ 256, mqfi probable, that as it is adequate to
the Effect, fo it is the foie Caufe of that Difeafe, How¬
ever he fc'eins afterwards to fluctuate!in his Opinion,
laying P. 405 , I do not venture to affirm, that there
does not exiji another Caufe produMivo of fimilar
EbreEis.
;
t See P. 57,
( io8 )
did I take upon me to afcertain the Caufes
of the Devonftiire Colic, but only to fhew,
that Lead in our utenfils of Pounding was
npt the Caufe,
I have now gone through with my Reply
tp every Thing Material advanced againft
me by Dr. Saunders. And in doing this,
I have had an Opportunity of farther clear-
ing up, and more fully eftablifhing the
Truth of fome Points, which were but
ilightly touched upon in the Curfory Re¬
marks^ And as I am ftill more convinced,
that I had Truth on my fide ; I could not
in Juftice to myfelf and County patiently
fubmit to be borne down by a Parade of
Words, and feemingly leave this vaunting
Adverfary in quiet PolTeffion of the Fields
when He had not the leaft Pretenfions to
Viftory.
I hope my Antagonifts will now give
up the Troughs and Prefles, and acquit
our Cyder, as it comes from the Pound,
and our Cyder-rnakers in general, from all
leaden Imputation.
As for any fubfequent Adulteration by
Litharge, or Saccharum Saturni; Dr. Saun¬
ders, as was obferved before, fays to
Dodlor Baker ; ^ Tou have not a/J'erted, that
the
Aniwer, P, i6.
( 109 )
ihe Farmers of DevonJJoire ufe Litharge, Whj
are they defended againji a Charge not brought
againfl them? You have not jaid^ that Ceruffe
was thrown into Cyder.
Indeed if this Charge brought againji
them^ it might ealily be refuted. I have
not heard, nor do I believe, that they ever
throw any fuch Ingredients into their Cy¬
der, or even know the Ufe of them, for
the piirpofe here referred to. The crude,
rough, fharp Cyder, which is ufually drank
by the Common People, and is the Com¬
mon Parent of the Difeafe, fufiiciently
fhews bv its acerb Tafte, that it never had
been fweetened by the admixture of fuch
Subftances* And the many Experiments,
which I myfelf have lately made on various
Specimens of this Sort of Cyder, abun¬
dantly eftablifh the fame Conclufion, and
prove, that no Lead in any fliape had ever
entered their Compofition.
1 might fay too, that fuch a Pradlice, fo
rarely taking Place, if indeed it doth take
Place at all, could never be a general
Caufe of a provincial Difeafe. Neither
could fuch a Pradlice be peculiar to Devon.
For may not the fharp Cyder in other
Counties equally want fuch a remedy?
And may not the Dealers there, as well
as thofe of Devon, haye both the know-
( Jio )
knowledge and wickednefs to apply it?
However it is none of my Bufinefs, as a
Party in this Controverfy, to enter farther
into this Point. It is fufficient for my pur-
pofe at prefent to fay, that fuch a Charge
makes no Part of our original Difpute,
Dr, Baker’s Pofition was, and his Second
maintains it, that the Mtijiy or new Cyder is
Impregnated by the Lead in our Pounds and
Prejfes ; And that this leaden Impregnation is
the foie Caufe of the Devonjlolre endemlal Colic\
^ This Opinion I have combated, and by
this Time, I believe effectually overthrown.
I
Dr. Saunders, fenfible of the untenable-
nefs of their firft Ground, feems to me to
be for changing fituation, and providing
for a Retreat. After we have driven him
out of the Pounds and Prefles, and He
can no longer maintain his Solution of Lead
in the Muft, it is probable, the Gentleman
may have recourfe to fome fubfequent
Saturnine Adulteration. T Pages i6
and
^ See EfTay P. 29, 34, 35, and Dr. Saunders’s An-
fwer P. 25 and Medical Iranf actions ^ P. 208.
•f* In Order to Account for the different Effects of
the Cyder of Devon, and that of Hereford, with re-
Ipedl to the Colic ; Dr. Baker tells us P. 29 hrft Ef
fay, that the Devonfhire Apparatus for making Cyder,
Occafions fuch a difference. But in a Revilion of the
Effay, as re-publ idled in Medical TranfaHms?, 205,
he
( m )
and 1 8 he gives feme Intimations of this.
But fuch a fubterfuge will nothing avail
him. This is not the fubjedl of our pre»
fent Controverfy ; Nor, after I have fairly
beaten my Antagonift off his firfi: Ground^
fhall I think myfelf obliged to purfiic, and
engage him here.
It was obferved, P. ao, that the De-
vonfhire Colic appears in fome Parts of
the County, where no Lead is to be found
in the utenfils of Cyder-making ; And doth
not appear in other Parts, where fome
Lead
He foftens his Expreilion by faying, I’hh at leaji in
Fart Occajicns fuch a remarkable difference. Here the
Do(5i:or teems to give up the Point firfi advanced,
that Lead in our Apparatus for making Cyder ^ impreg¬
nating the Liquor i is the foie Caufe of the Devonfhirs
Colic, by altering his Terms, and faying only; This,
at leaji in Part, Occafions fuch a difference. And in
P. 208, he frankly acknowledges, that when hejirji
entered upon this enquiry, he luas of Opinion, that what¬
ever Mixture of Saturnine Farts there might he found in
the Cyder of Devo7i, were wholly to he referred toihe acci¬
dental Ufe of that Metal in the Troughs and Frefjes, But
now being hard Preffed for a fiifficiency of Lead
from the T roughs and PrefTes, he endeavous to pro¬
cure a liipply from various other fubfequent Means
of Introdudhon. See Pages 209, 210, 467, ^c.
Does it not appear by all this, that Dr. Baker
himfelf is partly going off from his firft Principle,
and is fliifting the Objedl of ourDifpute; And that
finding the Pounds and PrefTes utterly infufficient to
his purpofe, is forced to bring in to their Aid vari*
ms other poficrior modes of Leaden Adulteration.
( 112 )
Lead may be found. Mr. Geach has alfo
obferved, ^ that if the Lead in the Pounds
^ was the Caufe of the Difoi'der in Quef-
^ tion, it would always prevail, wherever
‘ Lead was fo made Ufe of; And, on
* the other Hand again, wherever Lead
^ was not fo made ufe of, the Diforder
‘ would never prevail : Both which are
^ contrary to all Experience.’
Thefe Objedllons to the leadeti Hypo-
thefis, which feem to Be un ahfwerable,
I find have alfo been made by a learned
Phyfician, and Friend of the Author of
the Effay. An experienced Phyjician informs
me^ faith Dr. Baker, P. 245, that he found
that Jeveral of his Patients^ received into the
Devon and Exeter Hofpitaf who laboured un¬
der the Colic of Devonjhire^ had never Drank
any Cyder.
The Eflayift obviates this Objedlion by
faying, the head may by divers other means
be admitted into the Human Body.
True. It may poffibly be admitted by
fome other means. But fuch leaden Ca¬
fes are very rare. And juft as rare in De¬
von, as in any other Counties. For I
think, we have no leaden Mines in De¬
von
* Reply to Dr. Saunders, P. 3.
( 513 )
von. Whereas the Cafe before ns was Com¬
mon. 'Fhis experienced Phyjician had federal
of thefe Vatients recehed into the Devovjloire
Irlofpital. If Lead by any other means
had been the Canfe, furely that Caufe
could not have efcaped the Penetration
• of this experienced Phyjician in all thefe
feveral Patients,
The fame experienced Piiyfician, if I
conjedluire right, has alfo declared, that
He receives more Patients in this Dlfor-’
der from the North of Devon^ where^ corn-
par at ively [peaking^ very little Cyder is niadCy
or ufedy Beer and Ale being there the moji
common Liquor y than from the wxjliiotcd Cyder
Parts of the County ; And that one Perfoti in
particular y who" was fent to Him from thence
quite a Cripple in this Difordery had fcarce
ever drank any Cyder in his whole Life,
The fame experienced Phyfician aifo
affures Dr. Baker, that the Cyder y which
others of his Patients had dranky was made
in Pounds y which had no Lead in any Part
of their Compofition, And a Cafe exach:-
]y of this Kind came within my know¬
ledge this laft Autumn. A Perfon was
very bad of the provincial Colic, by drink¬
ing new Cyder made in a Pound con’ifhng
of one entire Moor Stone, without any
Portion of Lead, H This
^ Medical Tranfaftion?, P.. 245,
(
1 14
)
This evidence^ replies our Author^ may per¬
haps appear io have no great force ^ if we con-
Jider^ that more than one way has above been
pointed out^ by which that Liquor mas reafonably
be itippojed to he adulterated with Lead. P. 2 47.
I am very fore, there is not the leaft
Reafon to fuppofe This, in the Cafe that I
have mentioned. And if it were neceilliry,
I coLiid produce an AfiMavit, to ihew,
that there was no Adulteration. Nor is it
a Suppofition to bejuppojed in the other Cafe.
For this experienced Phyjtcian would be tri¬
lling in his Objedlion, and uncandid in
making it, if Fie had not firft had all rea-
fonable aflurance, that the Cyder, which
gave the Colic, was in every refpect clear
from ail Sofpicion of Lead, whether from
Pounds, Prefles, leaden Weights, Pipes,
Furnaces, or any Saturnine Preparation.
But at this Rate, we iliall never a:et rid of
Lead. One while the Perjon is made lia¬
ble to be injured by various other modes
of leaden Influence; One while the Cyder.
When we have driven this Peftile nt Ene¬
my from our Pounds and Prefles, it creeps
in fccretly afterwards by Adulteration.
When we exclude Adulteration, it attacks
us tliroiia:h the fides of our Kitchen Veflels,
and even in our Sauces, Pickles and Tarts.
And fliould we efcape it here, ftill we
may take it ni from Quacks, and injudicious
Phvfic AFons;ers. Ao:ain,
O O ^
See Medical Tranlaytion^', F. 231, 363.
( ”5 )
Again, our Author tells us, P. 247, That
a very learned friend objedlsi ‘ Ij' the ffuan-
‘ tity of Lead^ which was obtained by your
^ A£ay^ were^ in generaf difjohed in our
^ Cyeleiy fcarce any One oj our great Cyder
^ drinkers^ who muji- daily fwallow a Grain.^
^ or two of dijfdved Lead^ could efcape the
^ , Dry Colic ; And^ in confequence ^ this County
^ mujl long fine e have been depopidatedd
The Eilayift’s Reply to this is altoge¬
ther unfatisfaftory. He fays; The Argu¬
ment adduced by his learned Friend aghhiji a
metallic Solid ion ^ will be as valid againf a
poijOWMs Acid ; And that the dijpculty af ac¬
counting for the ReafoUy why the County is not
depopulated j is as greats if we admit acid-
Cyder to be the Caufc-, as f d'ffolved Dead be
fuppofed to be the Caufe oflhe Difeafe.
Surely this reafoning cannot be fupport-
ed. The acefeent Juices of Fruits, and
other vegetable Subftances, and of fer-
mented Liquors prepared from them, are
not only innocent, but congenial to the
Fluman Body, and afford proper whole-
fome aliment to the generality of People,
efpecially to fuch, as are ftrong, healthy,
and lead an adlive natural Courfe of Life;
And only difagree by accident, and vdth
a very Few, in Comparifon, who are weak
tender, and lead a fedentary unnatural
H 2 Courfe
( )
Courfe of Life, or ufe fucli Juices and Li¬
quors in excefs. But diffolved Lead, which
is in the Condition of Saccharum Saturni, be¬
ing a real acrimonious Poifon, mufi; be uni-
verfally noxious, and produce deleterious
Effedls, in a greater or lefs degree, in All,
who take it ior any Time. Confequently
the Argument adduced againfc a metallic So¬
lution^ will not be as valid again (i a poijonous
Acid, The acid Cyder may bring on the
Colic, and kill here and there ; But the
diflblved Lead mnft univerfally deftroy. ^
Now the learned Effayift allows, y that
many, who drink large Quantities of De-
vonlhire Cyder, fuppofed to be impregna¬
ted with Lead, are perfedlly free from the
Devonfhire Colic. The Conclufion from
thefe Premifes is very Plain. The Cyder
cannot be fo impregnated.
Again, our Author in a Poftcript to his
EJay, Medical TranfaSlions ^ P. 249, tells us.
That the fame very learned Friend, in his Ob-
]e6lions againft the leaden Hypothelis, in-
fp. that the Servants of thofe Farmers,, who
, have a great deal of Lead in their Pounds and
Preffes, are not more fuhjedl to the Colic, than
Thofe of their fellow ParifJoloners, who ufe no
Lead at all-. And that the Servants and La¬
bourers
See back P. 88, 89, 90, 91.
t P. 56, firll: Publication.
( “7 )
hourers of tkofe, who make very poor ^ crude ^
four Cyder ^ are^ of all Perfons^ the moft af-
Jlidled with this Difeafer
The Efiayift replies. Phejirft Part of
this Evidence is directly contradidied by that of
feveral Perfons of accuracy ^ who have commu¬
nicated to me their Obfervations.
When this Author was informed, that
the North Eafte rn Cyder Counties had no
Lead, in any Part of their Pounding-Ap¬
paratus, much was faid of the Accuracy of
the Information, and the Matter feemed
to pafs for eftablifhed Truth. And yet on
a flight Enquiry on the Spot, that Informa*?
tion was found to be vague, inaccurate^
and not to be depended upon ; And feve¬
ral Inftances were produced in diredl Con-
tradidlion to it. And may not the ac¬
curacy in the prefent Cafe be juftly fuf-
pedled, when it is llady contradifted by
the Teftimony of this very learned Gentle¬
man^ and Friend of the Doftor, — by the
Teffimony already adduced of Mr. Cockey,
Mr. Pearfe, Mr. Rennel, Mr. Searl, Mr.
Luce, T and of many other Gentlemen, that
might be mentioned, whofc Judgement,
H 3 Veracity
. . . — " ■ . — - ■ ■■ ■ ■■■ .wvmm, ■" .
* See P. 58, 59, 60, of this Reply,
t See back, V. 20, 2t, 22.
( “8 )
Veracity, and proper Opportunities of in¬
formation cannot be called in Queftion ?
And let not the Effayift except againft this
my Devonilrire Panel, as interefled in the
Caufe; Or fay, as He doth fay, P. 242, it
is dijfjcult to eJiabliJJj a in Oppojition to
the prejudices^ the Pq/jions^ and. iiiterejis of
Men. For we have the fuperior evidence
of Facls, as v/ell as of Perfons, to corrobo¬
rate our Caufe. We have proved by Ex¬
periments, that even in Founds, where
there is fome Lead in the Cramp Holes,
or jiin(5lures of the Trough, or Prefs plated
over with fheet Lead, the fweet Muft is
not, cannot be, in the leaft impregnated
by the A4etal, in the firort Time it is run¬
ning over, or comes in contadl with it, at
the Time of Pounding and Preffing."^ And
what if a Place here or there, that has
forne Lead in the Pounding Apparatus,
fliould happen to be fubjech; to the Colic,
does it follow, that a Solution of Lead in
that Apparatus Is the Caufe, when it is a
Fadt not to be controverted, that many
Places,
See this Rf.plyV. 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 53, 67. See
alfo, Chemical Experiments^ by Mr. William Cookwor^
thy, an ingenious Cheiniil of Plymouth, publi/lied in
Mr. Geach's Rep/y; which fhew, both by the Application
of Hepar-Sulphuris, and by an Affay made of an ex-
tradi: of the Cyder, that there was not the lead Sign of
Lead in Cyder made at Founds, that had Lead in the
^Froughs, and over the Area of the Prels, ' '
( 1^9 )
Places, which have no Lead, or next to
none, in their Pounds and PrefTes, are juft
as remarkably troubled with the DIfeafe?
Dr. Nooth of Dorfetftiire is brought as an
evidence, P. 466, that the Lead in the
Pounds and IheiTes gives the Colic of Poi¬
tou. And yet in the fame Page, Do6lor
Baker tells us, l.ljat he has received Infor¬
mation from another Gentleman of the County of
Dorjet^ that it is a common VraBice among
their Fanners to buy at the Apothecaries Shops
large Fluantities of Sugar of Lead, zvith which
they are known to j wee ten their Cyder. Does
not this EAudence feem to weaken, if not
deftroy, the former ? Such Quantities of
Sugar of Lead are alone fufiicient to pro¬
duce the Colic ; And therefore if the Prac¬
tice he Common, there is no need of having
recourfe to any other Caufe, or of charg¬
ing: the Pounds and Preftes. But what is
O
this to the Devonfhire Farmers? Tou have
not ajferted, fays Dr. Saunders to Dr. Ba¬
ker, ‘I* That the Partners of Devorfloire ufe
Litharge, Why are they defended, againjl a
Charge not brought againjl them ? The De-
vonftri re Farmers then are here acquitted of
th is Adulteration. But if the Charge were
brought againft them, it w^ould not be
much to the Purpofe in the prefent debate.
H 4 The
See back, P. 20,
t /mpucr, Pf iB.
/
( lao )
"The Lead in the Pounds and Preffes was hrii;
attacked, as the foie Caufe of the endemiai
Colic : And my Bufinefs was only to excul¬
pate the Cyder from all leaden Impregnation
f tom Them, not from all tutu re Adulteration.
y
Such a future Adulteration however, I am
fully perfuaded, has no Place with the gene- ^
fality of our Devoilftiire Cyder-miakers, nor
ih that cfude, rough, fharp Cyder, which
is the common Beverage of our workmen,
and Domeftics, among whom the Diforder
chiefly prevails; And which therefore is
in vain now brought as a fubfidiary Argu¬
ment in fupport of the leaden Dodtnne.
Dr. Baker adds: ^ T&V evidence of his
learned Friend^ namely ^ that thofe^ who have
Lead in their Pounds or Prefes^ are not more
jubject to the Colk\ than thofe of their fellow.,
P arijhioners ^ who life no head at all^ may like--
wife be confidered^ as in fome Manner contra-^
didled by the Authority of Dr, JVall; who in a
'Cyder County^ avhere the Dry Colic is ahnofl
Unkncwn^ attended fever al j Patients under that
Difeafe^ oocafoned by Cfder adulterated by
means Gj foeet l.ead nailed over the Prefs;
And ivho likewife tejiifes^ that Alf who Drank
of Cyder ^ which had been kept in a leaden CiJ--
tern^ were affebted by it^ as the Lead vcorkers
ufually are. I
See back P. 50, 69, 109.
+ Poiicript, P. 249.
Two or Three, in ihQ Firjl Effhy.
'{ ■ ■ - ■ ■ .. ' , -
( )
1 never faw^ nor heard of one leaden
Ciftern in Devon, kept for the above pur-
|X)fe, except That One mentioned by Dn
Baker, and which. He fays, * is now no
longer ufedfor that ptirpoje. No body denies
the pernicious Effcfts of Cyder, boiled,
fermented, and long kept in fuch a VefleL
But this Argument, which ferves only to
draw off the Reader’s Attention from a weak
to a ftronger Part, and confeffedly does not
operate at all in our County atprefent, tho^
the Difeafe ftlll continues, has really nothing
to do in the prefent Cafe* Our Difpute is
about the Effeft of Lead in the Pounds
and PrefTes. It is the Lead in thefe only,
that the Objedlion of this learned Friend
refpedls. Dr. Walls Authority as to this
Point can only be this. He thought thefe
two or three colicky Patients became fo, by
drinking Cyder adulterated with Jloeet head
flailed over the Prefs. He could not cer¬
tainly know, that this Lead was the Caufe.
For we have fhewn, that there may be
iuch Colics without Lead. He could
not be fore, there was the leail: Solution
of Lead in the Cyder. He made no
Experiments upon it, either by the Pro¬
batory Liquors, or by Evaporation. It
is taking fpr granted, what ought to be
proved, to pronounce, that a Solution of
the Lead of the Prefs was the Caufe.
And
't See McdicaJ JranJa^tions, P, ^14,
( i22 )
And poffibly this worthy man and excel¬
lent Piiyfician, on farther Conlideration^
may now be of Opinion, that the Difeafe
might be occafioned by the poverty, four-
nefs, or newnefs of the Cyder, or by the
immoderate Quantity drank, or fome other
Caufe not then attended to, and not by
the fheet Lead nailed over the Prefs. The
Prefs was in a Fart of JVorcefterJhire^ border
ing upon JVarwickJJoire^ where very jew Ap¬
ples ^ow, And where I know the Cyder
(for I have frequently tafted it, in travel¬
ling from Long Compton to Stratford) to
be a poor, weak, fweet— four Liquor, and
fuch, as in Devon, we fliould think would
give the Colic. It is faid, Phis Facl of a
Cyder Prefs covered with Jloeet head is a fm-
gular^ and Perhaps the only Injlance of the
Kind, in this Part of England, Ho w^ care¬
ful are they to guard againft a farther Num¬
ber of fiicii Prefles ! If it be a Jhigular, I
will grant without a perhaps, that it is the
only Ivjiance, But the leaden Prefs at
hedbiiry fliew'S, that it is neither a Jingular,
nor the only Inftance of the Kind, in that Part
of England, The Dry Colic, according to
our Author, is almofl unknown in this Part
oj England, And on the ftridleft enquiry,
I could not find, I do not fay, that the
Dry Colic is almof!: unknown in Plereford-
fliire ; But I could not find, that the leaden
Prefs at Ledbury had ever had any Eftedls
Oil
( 123 )
on the Drinkers of the Cyder made there^
different from thofe of non-Ieaden Preffes,
But if a leaden Prefs folely caufed the Co¬
lic on the Borders of Warwicldhire ; Why
fhould not the fame Sort of Prefs caufe it
at the large and much ufed Pound of Led¬
bury ; Where perhaps five hundred Times
more Cyder is made ; And confequently
the Lift of fuch Sufferers fhould be five
hundred Times more numerous, and the
bad Effe6ls in Proportion be more con-»
fpicuous ? '
Dr, Baker here alfo adduces the Tef-
timony of Dr. Ingen Houfz, in Order to
, prove, that, where there is no Lead ufed
in the Apparatus for making Cyder, there
the People are not troubled with this Co¬
lic. Dr. Ingen Hoiijz-., it feems^ was lately
in Normandy ; And enquired^ whether or no
any Lead as ufed there in the Apparatus for
making Cyder, And he was informed^ that
no Lead is employed for that purpofe in any
Part of that Province, lie likewife was in¬
formed^ that in the Hofpital at Rouen^ there
are generally many Patients under the Colic of
Poitou^ fuch as Potters, Painters, and other
workers of Lead ; But that there is in Nor-
?nandy no endemial Colic, which can be attri¬
buted to Cyder.
This
f Medical Tranfadtions, P. 250,
( 124 )
This Argument, whatever force there
might be in it, Doftor Baker himfelf has
entirely overthrown. For in an jlppendix
to the Ejffay, ^ IVe are told^ that Dr, Ingen
Hozijz^ not being entirely Jatirfied %vith the In¬
formation He received^ when He ivas at Rouen^
has enquired of a Rhyfwian ‘-f of that Place by
Letter^ concerning tJoe Method of making Cy¬
der in Normandy ; And particidarly^ whether
there he any Dijeafe in that Province , which
may be fuppofed to be the Effect of the provin^
dal Liquor. And that in Anfwer to his ^ze-
ries^ He has received an Analy/is of two DiJ-
fertations^ which were lately Read before the
Academy of Rouen by M-. Chaudelmg a cele¬
brated Chemifi of that City: By which it ap¬
pears ^ that there is every Tear an epidemic
Colic among the Domeftics and lower Sort
of People in Normandy^ which is to be attri¬
buted wholly to the Cyder ^ as^ on the nicefl
Chemical Examination of that Liquor ^ both by
the Application of the vfual Lefts ^ and in the
Way of Extr ad j not the lea ft Atom of Lead
could be difeovered. As Do£lor Baker has
given us only the French of the Analyfis
of the above Differtations, I fhall here pre¬
fen t
* P. 460, ^c.
t This Phyfician’s Name is M. Damhouniry ; as T
find by a Letter which I have from this celebrated
Chemift, M. LecJia7idtlie7\ For io his Name ought to
fee Written, as was noted before.
f
( 125 )
fent the Reader with an Engliili Tranh^
lation.
Ill Rouen there is fcarce, or not at allj,
Sa Year, wherein there are not Colics |
^ which ordinarily attack the Domeftics^
^ more than any others, and, in a greater
or lefs Number, in the fame Houles: A
Fadl, which gives Reafon to prefume, that
^ thpy arc caufed by the Cyder, which is
the common Drink of the lower Clafe
^ of People.
‘ In the Months of Auguft and Septem-
^ ber, 1766, the Matters of feveral conli*
^ derable Families, having a great Niimbea:
^ of their People attacked with Colics,
engaged a Chemitt of our Academy of
^ Rouen, to examine and analyfe their
Cyders, in Order to difcover the Caufe
^ of this Diforder. He executed witti
^ great Zeal and difintereftednefs the Ex-
amination of thefe Cyders. And as they
^ had an agreable Tafte at firft, whioli
^ however left behind it a perceivable
^ lharpnefs, and roughnefs, that affected
^ the Mouth with a Sort of Attringency
and drynefs ; He began to affure himfelf
of the prefence of the Acid,
^ But fufpedling, that the Maladies at-
^ tributed to Acidity, might come from
fo me
( 126 )
« fome Calx of Lead, and fearing, that
« the pernicious Practice of fome Wine-
« Merchants might have been communi-
Gated to fome of the Cyder-Merchants,
« He negledted no means that were pro^
^ per to fatisfy liimfelf as to the prefence ,
^ of Lead.
^ The Hepar Sulphuris Arfenicaiis. —
^ the Exficcation of the Liquor to. an Ex-
‘ tradt, and the Calcination with a fufficient
Quantity of Phlogifton, were all empioy-
ed ; And yet, notwithftanding the niceft
Attention not to take up any of the Allies
without making the Lotions neceffary for
the Difcovery of the Contents, not the
^ leaft Atom of Lead could be found.
^ He did not however conclude from
thence, that the Cyder was not the Caufe
of the reigning Colics. But as the Cy-
der was fweet and four, a mixture of
^ old and new, that which they here call cut^
or 'pricked Cyder, and is much ufed ;
^ He concluded, that the pricked Cyder
^ was the Caufe of the Colics, and that it
^ was dan2:eroiis to ufe it,
^ It
I. I . > ■ ■ ,.-1— ,,, I — ■ I > ji . — -*r ■ I Ui,
<r
^ Lc Foyc de foufre JrfenicaJ, Hepar Sulphuris Arfe-
7iicalh, I take to be the Digeftion of Orpinient and
Quick-Lime in Water, mentioned by Neuumann,
and ufed by Dr. Baker. Orpiment contains a great
deal of Sulphur, and fome fmall Portion of Arfenic.
t Cidre Coupe,
( 127 )
It is to tlie Cyder then that they attri-
bntc the Colics, which reign here from
^ Time to Time. But one feldom, or ne-
ver fees Palfies to be the confequence.
Almoft all the circular Troughs, wdiere-
in they Pound their Apples, are made
^ of wood, and faftened together with
^ wooden Pins, without any Sort of MetaL
There are Some however, that are con-
ftrudled of Stones, particularly of Moor-
Stones, hollowed for the purpofe, and
^ joined end to end ; The jundlures of
which are filled up with Lead.
^ The Bed, or Floor of the Prefs, over
which the Juice of the Apples runs, is
every where throughout our Province
made of Wood, without any Plate of
Lead.’
This is the fubftance of the T^wo DtJJer-
tations of M, Lechandelier^ read before the
Academ.y of Rouen, with a view to the
Inveftigation of the true Caufe of the Nor¬
man epidemic Colic.
Now although Dr. Baker had before
argued on the Authority of Dr. IngenHoufz,
that
/
is Les GoUgiies violcntes, the violent Colics, in my
Letter from M. Lechandelier.
( 128 )
that Cyder alone can never produce an
endemial Colic, as the People in Norman¬
dy, whofe common Beverage is Cyder,
and who have no Lead in their Pounding
Apparatus, have no endemial Colic, that can
be attributed to that Liquor; Yet here is a
Proof of Dr. Baker’s own producing, that
They have every Year, more or lefs, an epi¬
demic Colic in that Province, which they
can attribute to nothing but Cidre Coupe ^
* As fome Readers may not underhand what is'
meant by Cidre Coupe ^ I thall here give an Explana¬
tion, as I have it from M. Le chandelier, Perfonne
n’ignore, qiie le Cidre Coupe eff particulierment fujet a
donner des Coliques. Le Goull: acerbe, qui devient
enfuitte aigre, ne permet plus d’ufer de Cidre en qet
etat. Et c’eff dans Funique veue de f ’en procurer la
vente, que les Marchands ont pris Fufage de cor-
riger ce gont delagreable par la douceur flatteufe du
Cidre nouveau. Or cet ufage eft generalement adopte ;
Ils emploient mefme des proportions differentes felon
le degre d’anciennete du vieux Cidre ; Et lorfque le
Cidre eft peu dur, et encore potable, ils fe contentent
d’une quatrierne partie de Cidre nouveau pour le ren-
dre plus agreable. Every one knows, that pricked
Cyder is particularly fubjedt to give the Colic. The
tharp acid Cyder, which afterwaids becomes four,
can no longer be ufed in this State ; And it is onlv with
a view of procuring Vent for it, that the Merchants
have taken up the Cuftoni of corredfing this difagre-
ableTafte by the flattering fweetnefs of new Cyder.
This Practice is now generally adopted ; And they
ufe difierent Proportions, according to the Degree of
Age of the Old Cyder; And when the Cyder is only
a little hard, and ftill drinkable, they think it fuffi-
cient to add about one fourth Part of new Cyder, in
Order to render it more agreable.
( 129 )
I
a pricked, fweet-four Cydei% the common
Drink of the Country ; As all their Prejjes^
and a mo ft all their Pounding P roughs are en¬
tirely compofed of Wood^ and on the nice ft ex(i-
viination and chemical Analyfis of the Cyders
oj feme oj the principal Families^ where the
Difeafe reigned mofi^ not the leaft Atom of
Lead could he difeovered. If the fharpnefs
of the Cyder then, where there is not the
leaf!: ground to fuppofe a Particle of Lead,
produce an endemial Colic every Year in
Normandy, why not in Devonfhire ? Can
any Argument hold ftronger, that the De¬
vonfhire Colic may be oweing, allowing
for fome Difference of Circumftances, to
the fame Caufe, mere* * ly. to the fharpnefs, or
bad Qriality of the Ordinary Cyder ; which
is the common Beverage of the lower Sort
of People, among whom the Diforder
chiefly reigns, in r>evonfhire, as well as in
Normandy ? For my Part, I think the Cafe
is full in Point j and that our Author, as a
controverfialift, is here a Felo de fe. It is
amazing how fo ingenious a Writer can af¬
terwards gravely fay; It is fairly then to
be inferred from the.TeJiimony of M. Chaude-
lieyy that the Colic ^ which ^ from Pune to Time^
infejis the Inferior Clafs of People in the Pre-^
Pincc of lAormandy^ is not Analogous to the
Colic of Devonftoire,
.. i ..■■■■ m^'i ■■ini n ni» 1 1
* F; 464.
I
Can
( 130 )
Can any Thing be more analogous ? Can
any two Cafes be more fimilar? No Cafes
are exadlly alike in all their circumftances.
The Reafon our learned Eflayifl: giveSg,
why the Colic of Normandy is not Analo¬
gous to that of Devon, is, that Palf.es are
rarely^ if at alf objerved to be the confequence
of the Norman Colic
Is Palfy always the confequence of the
Devonfhire Colic ? Far from it. Num¬
bers of Inftances, I believe I might fay, by
far the Majority of Inftances of the Devon¬
fhire Colic, do not terminate In fuch Pa¬
ralytic Affeftion. I have feen three, or
four Perfons in my own little Parifh this
very laft Pounding Seafon, who had the
Colic of the Country, without any Sign of
of Palfy. Sometimes no doubt this Colic
does End in Palfy. And the Colic of
Normandy, even according to this Account,
is not abfolutely free from it. Different
Degrees of fweetnefs, or Acidity, in the
Liquor - -Difference of the Quantity
Drank - Different Phyfical Treatment,
- - Difference of Climate, Food, Way of
Life, or other local circumftances, may
operate fo that the fame apparent Caufe
fltall not always be attended with the fame
Effeft, nor the fame Difeafe with exaftly
the
* See P. 97.
( *3^ )
the fame confequences. It is fufficient^
if the Analogy hold as to all the mairi
effential Parts. But I have indifputable
Authority, that the Analogy is ftili ftronger,
gnd that the Palfy is more often the Effedl
' of the Norpian Colic, than this Account
makes it. In the Letter before mentioned,
M. Lechandelier, in Anfwer to fome
Queries propofed to him, very modefl:-
]y and ingenuoufly replies. ^ Les ^ej-
^ tions propofees^ font elks bien du rejjort
diun Chyinijie confine dans le haboratoire?
^ Is a Solution of the ^ejiions ^ propofed
^ within the reaoh of a Qhemiji^ coifined
^ to the Labqratoryr He then faith; ^ He
^ had not himfelf obferved Paljies to to be the
^ Ordinary confequence of the Colics ; As he
^ had before declared in his Dffertations.
^ Mats comme fa feide experience eut ete bien
^ infufifante^ &c.
‘ But as his own Experience ?7ilghi not have
^ been fufficlentinthis Cafe; lie applied hbnfelf
^ to fome of thofCy who had the infpection of the
^ Sick, and who therefore might befuppofed to
^ be better qualified to decide on this ffuejiion,
^ However Hoey coidd not take upon them to fay\
^ that the Thing had ever happmcd.
1 2 Ne
* One of the Queftions I propofed to Him, vvas^
whether the Norman epidemic Colic ever ends ia
Palfy, ’ '■ ^ ■
( 13^ )
^ Ne vQuIant rlen affirmier\ qui ne foil
conjorme- a la verite et a V experience^ ll
xient de conjidter de nouveau tin Docleiir
en Medeciue^ qui ltd a dit avoir vu line
femme Farakfee a la fidtte de cette Coli-
qiie^ qu on apelle Vegetale^ ct qui fuc-
comb a. Not being willing therejore to ajjirrn
anx Thing that might not be ftridlk con-
fonnable to Truth and Experience^ Fie juft
now comes from con\idting a Doctor in Phy-
Jicj who told him^ He had jeen a VEoman^
that became Paralytic in conjequence of this
Colic ^ which they call Vegetaf and who died
OJ u,
Uy this it appears, that M. Lechandelier,
who was chiefly confined to the Works of
the Laboratory, did not think liimfelf fuf-
flcicntly qualified to decide on this Quef-
tion from his own knowledge, or experi¬
ence, and therefore iriade freflr enquiry ;
And on confuking a Dodlor in Phyfic,
found that the Colic did fometirnes end in
Pa!fy« He larther adds : Moiifeur Bonk
Medecine a Coulances en Bafsi NorniandiC
a domie^ il y a qudques Aniiees^ dans le
Journal du Medicine^ tine Djjertation fur
It’S Coliqiies caujees par le Cidre, CFf
cet auteur^ qiCil convient de conf idler pour
en lien connoitre le CharaHcre et les fuittes.
M. BontSy
Bont^^ Doctor of Phiftc at Coutaucf.
in Lovccr Nonnandy^ hath given Jcme
Tears ago^ in the Journal of Phxfic. a Dif
fertation on Colics^ caufcd by the Cyeler, And
this Author it would be proper to confab^ in
Order thoroighb to hvrw their Natter e and
Conjeenienccs .
I have not had an Opportunity of con-
felting Mr. Bont^’s DifTertation. But here,
I doubt not, we fhali find more frequent
Inftances of this Colic endina; in fome Pa-
jalytic Affedtion.
A finking Perfon is ready to lay hold
of a Twig, or a Straw. And our Author
endeavours here to fave himfelf bv catch-
ing at a Bit of Lead. If we even fuppofe,
ia)es He, * what 'however is not proved
Yes, now it is proved ; If we even fup-^
pojey that the Norman Colic does now
and then end in a Paralytic AjfeBion ;
Such Cafes may reajonably be referred to
Lead^ as the Caufe; Since, although vcood-
en Troughs be in general ufed in Nor-
niandy, it is acknowledged by M. Chan¬
delier, that il pen trouve quelques unes,
qui Jont eonflriiitcs de pier res, dont les
jointures font garriies de Plomb ; There
■are fonie to be found, that are conjlrudled
bj Stones j whoje ’Jundiures arc filed in with.
* Lead,
Now to make this Argument of any
Force, our Author ought to fhew, ift. that
the Woman juft mentioned, and all thofe
in Normandy, whofe Colic ended in Paliy^
had happened to Drink of Cyder, made
in Stone Troughs, whofe Junctures are
filled up with Leadi, And adly. fuppoling
them to have Drank of Cyder made in fuch
Troughs, He muft fhew, that fuch a very
fmall furface of Crude Lead would fo much
impregnate the Juice, in the very fhort
Time the Apples are in Pounding, as not
only to produce the Colic, but that aggra¬
vated Sort of it, which ends in Palfy. And
cenfequently in the third Place, That this
Apple Juice or Cyder, on the Application
of the Liquor Probatorius, would give Marks
of a Saturnine Solution, and fome Portion
of real Lead on Evaporation, liut as all
the Preffes, and almoft all the Pounding
Troughs in the Province are conftru6led en^
tirely of Wood ; I fuppofe, it is more than
a Thoufand to one, that the Cyder, which
this Woman or other Paralytic Patients had
been ufed to Drink, did not happen to have
been made in fuch Stone Troughs, which
are fo extremely rare in the Country. And
it is very certain, if they had Drank of
Cyder made in fuch Stone Troughs, with
( 135 )
the Jnn6liires filled up with Lead, the
Cyder would not have been fo much im¬
pregnated by fo fmall a Portion of Lead,
in the fhort Time of Pounding, as to caufe
not only the epidemic Colic, but that ag¬
gravated obftinate Degree of it, terminating
in Palfy.
We have fliewn, that there are the fame
Sorts of Troughs, dont les jointures font
garnies de Plomb, in the County of Wor-
eefter. And yet according to the Eflay,
This is a Country^ where the Dry Belly
Ach^ and confequehtly this Palfy, its Off-
fpring, is almojl unknown. How can fuch
Troughs be innocent in WorcefterlLire,
and fo hurtful in Normandy? We have
alfo found by experiment, not only that
fuch a fmall furface of Lead in the Troughs
w^ould not impregnate the Liquor, but that
even the large extent of fheet Lead over
the Prefs will not do it. And to put the
Matter out of all Difpute, our Author him-
felf has informed us, that on the ftridteft
Examination, and moft judicious Analyfis
of thefe Norman Cyders, which are an¬
nually fo produiilive of an endemial Colic,
M. Lechandelier, the moft eminent Che-
mift of the Province, could not difeover
the leaft Atom of Lead,
It follows then, that the Norman Colics,
1 4 which
I
( 136 )
\i¥ich fometimes terminate in Paljy, can
HOC be reajonably referred 'to head as the
Caufe. Thefe Colics appear to be, what
M, Damhouriiey calls them, purely Fegetal^
oweing entirely to a vegetable Acid, or a
vegetable Subftance, without any admixture
of Lead, or other Mineral. And if an
ehdernial Colic be yearly produced in:
Normandy by Cyder, without any leaderi
Solution ; may we not by parity of Reafon
conclude, that the fame Caufe may pro¬
duce a flmilar Effeft here ; And that our
Author’s Opinion concerning the Caufe of
the DevonJIoire CoUc\ is not, as He faith,
greatly confirmed^ but abfolutely over¬
thrown, by the experience of the Inhabitant h
of , Normandy,
POSTCRIPTo
( 137 )
PO STG RIPT.
SilNCE the preceding Work was put to
) the Prefs^ an eminent Phyfician and
learned Friend of mine, fent me the fol¬
lowing Sketch of the Caiife of the Devon—
lliire Colic, which, I amagine, will be
acceptable to the Medical Readers.
The Devonfhire Colic, or Dry Belly
Ach, appears to be really oweing to the
rough Acid in the Cyder of that Country |
And the fame Difeafe in the Weft—Indies
is oweing to a perfeftly fimilar Caufe, the
acid or Limes, &c, taken in excefs. I
apprelrend, the Difeafe, which is the fub—
jeft of Difquifition, is produced by the
Caufe here affigned in the following
Manner.
The Bile in a found State has very im¬
portant Ufes in the Animal (Economy.
It is a finely elaborated Liquid Soap ; And
as fuch, diffolves the oily fatty Parts of
our Food, renders them equally mifcible
with the watery Parts, and by that means
incorporates the Juices of the various Kinds
of Aliment, on wLich we live, into a white
.milky homogeneous Fluid, called Chyle.
The Duodenum, into which the Gall is
( 13^ )
poured from the Cyftic and Hepatic Du6lsj
being a Continuation of the ftubftance
of the Stomach, is, in common with that
Organ, the Seat of Appetite and Digeftion,
as well as it is found to be of Sicknefs and
Vomiting. The Gall then being a fapona-
ceous elaborated Bitter, like all the Simples
of that Clafs, greatly excites Appetite, and
is, on both thefe Accounts, a great Inftru—
ment of Digeftion. Farther; The Gall,,
by its faponaceous flippery Quality, and by
its Acrimony, at the fame Time lubricates
the fides of the Inteftines, and excites their
Periftaltic Motion; and confequcntly greatly
promotes the Progrefs of the Contents
through that convoluted Canal. Hence
appears the Reafon of that obftinate Cof—
t/venefs, which enfues upon the Obdlruc—
tion of the Bile, and Jaundice, But acids
coagulate the Bile — deftroy its Soapy Al^
kaline Nature, and quite enervate its
Virtue. Hence Indigeftion, Flatulency^
Spafms, Tormina Ventris, Obftruftion of
the Biliary Dudls, Coftivenefs, Dry Belly
Ach, Meric Symptoms, Sicknefs, Vomit-^
Ing. When the other two Digeftions, the
Blood and Secretions, begin to be deeply
infefted with an Acid Taint ; The Nervous
Syllem mull: of Courfe be affefted : And^
when very much affedled, Palfy, Epilep-^
fy, are the ufual confequence.
It
( 139 )
✓
It Is probable, that leveral Caufes may
^concur to produce this greater Degree of
Roughnefs and Acidity in Devonfhire
der, than what obtains iil that of Here-* *
fordfliire, Gloucefterfhire, and Worcef-
terfhire.
The Apple Trees In the Devonfliire
Orchards are planted thicker and clofer
•together, than in thofe of the Cyder Coun¬
ties juft mentioned. This Circumftance
fcreens the Power of the Sun, and hinders
his Rays from having their due inlluence
in bringing the Fruit to Maturation.
The Soil of the three Ipecified Cyder ^
•Counties is generally of a more gravelly
Nature^ That of Devonfhire partakes
more of a clayey Conftitution. But an
open gravelly Mould more copioufty ab-
forbs, and retains the Sun’s Rays, than a
clayey one; Confequehtly the Former muft^
caeteris paribus, be warmer than the latter;
Not to Mention the different Nature of
the Juices of thefe different Soils.
Devonfhire, in Compariion with thefe
pther Provinces, may be confidered as an
elevated mountainous Country. And all
high
' - ■ I I I II — — 1 !■■■■< wall—
* Several of the following Obfervations, the Rea¬
dier will recolleft, had before occurred to me>
f • . f ' .
( 1 40 )
Iilgh, hilly, or mountainous Situations, are
found to be, ceteris paribus, cooler than
thofe of plainer fiirfaces.
Devonfl''Jre is alfo more wet or rainy^
than the other inland Cyder Countries
before recited, in confcqoence of its Ex-
polition to the Clouds and Vapour broughc
hither in great abundance by the Weft and
South Weft Winds from the vaft Atlantic
Ocean ; which are flopped here by the
Oppofing high Hills, and condenfed into
Rain. This muft be another great Check
to the 'Mellowing of Devonftiire Fruit.
For the more the Apples are expofed to
the Sun, the iefs of an auftere Acid, and
the more of a Saccharine Sulphureous
Principle they acquire in their Compofition,
Probably too, die Fruit of Flereford,
may be of a milder, or lefs Auftere Kind,
and confequently contain lefs of an auftere
Acid.
We fee then, that the circumftances of
the Devonfhire Climate, here briefly
iketched, are naturally produdlive of a
more rough auftere acid Cyder, than
that which is produced in the other Coun¬
ties, where this Liquor is cultivated. And
of this Kind offharp auftere Cyder, when
Drank in excefs for a Courfe ot Time,
efpecially by Perfons ef delicate, -tender,
vaietudinaiy
( HI )
valetudinary Conftitiitions, the Dry
Ach, or endemial CoHc, muft appear, from
what has been advanced, to be a very
obvious EffeA.”
TP
P
INIS.
•2(
ERRATA.
Page 6, Line 24, For capaciiy, 1: capacity,
- 20, — 10, at the end dele the full ilop.
■r— 22, • — 8, 9, dele the dots in the beginning^
— 23, — 22, dele s at the end: and iolert r iid
Chemiji'^, in the Note.
- — — 26j ' — 4, for Sulphur L, r Sulphuris,
■— — 265 — 12, for fcper ate, r feparate.
— 15, 3.iter thQ Words, with the- X Jlka%
- 4, ior frequently, r fometirnes,
- y , for are, r luere.
- II, for Colichj, r Colicky,
- 23, dele fiort,
~ 27, dele j in the firfl Word.
- 24, for /, r L, beginning the Sentence-
- 6, in the Note for out, r onL
~ 5, for Spipe a 7is, x Spigelius,
- 8, for Cralo, r Crato.
- 20, aftei verdeur for a full flop, r a fe^
niicolon, and a femicolon after TranJlatej,
- 24, r a full flop after inference,
- 21, r a full hop after Critique,
- 5 , dele the full hop after FhlogifloiL
- 10, for 0 r a in propogated,
- 1 2, for Saturnia, r Saturni,
- 13, r a full hop after Tea.
- 12, for mo ft r moiji*
- 8, for poderous, r ponderous ^
- 30, for Suppidation, r SupputAtion,
- 22, for Chandelier, r Chaudelier.
- '2, j >
-28,
-28,
-29,
-29,
■3L
■35.
- o A
■36>
-37.
~3^>
“"44?
“49 »
’-77.
--80,
-86,
-89,
-97>
“'99>
“99^
Note for 58, r 18, 87..
r>
im >'
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